The Ordnance Survey has opened up its data in a move that could attract entrepreneurs looking to capitalise on new solutions to old problems.
The initiative comes after months of consultations and was launched by Communities Secretary John Denham, who said that the scheme placed the UK at the edge of a digital revolution.
He said that he expected to see a stream of new websites and applications as businesses rushed to create new products by 'mashing up' the data with other information.
The move is part of a wider initiative to free up government data for commercial use headed by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web.
