Google, UN join hands to track refugees

Internet search giant Google Inc. yesterday unveiled a new feature for its popular mapping programs that shines a spotlight on the movement of refugees around the world.

The maps will aid humanitarian operations as well as help inform the public about the millions who have fled their homes because of violence or hardship, according to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which is working with Google on the project.

"All of the things that we do for refugees in the refugee camps around the world will become more visible," UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees L. Craig Johnstone said at the launch in Geneva.