ReadWriteWeb

Google announced today that mapping markup language KML has been accepted by and will be given to the Open Geospatial Consortium, an international mapping standards body. KML will now be known as OpenGIS® KML Encoding Standard (OGC KML), opening up what should be an explosive new era in online mapping.

The announcement wasn't a surprise. KML was already in use for map overlays by Microsoft Live and Yahoo! Maps. None the less, this could end up being an important event in the unfolding history of the web. Here's some of the big takeaways we see in the announcement today.