Today's Google Local is the result of last October's merger between two Google services—the original Google Local and Google Maps. Combined, they are even more intriguing.

Google Local's interface is a model of simplicity, though as we explain later, this can also be a limiting factor. You have but three search choices, "Search the Map," "Find businesses," and "Get directions." "Search the Map" does just that; entering an item or descriptive phrase in the search window results in the service narrowing its parameters to just the area within the border of the map currently displayed. If you're looking for something in a limited area, perhaps around your home, the quickest way is probably to enter what you're searching for and your ZIP code. For example, "pizza 11232" resulted in a list of ten pizza restaurants in the Gowanus and Sunset Park sections of Brooklyn, each indicated with a red tab.

"Find businesses" presents you with dual search bars, a "what" bar for the type of business you're in search of (hamburger restaurants, for instance) and the other for the "where" of your query (perhaps you are searching in Indianapolis). As with all the local search services reviewed here, special attention has been paid to Yellow Pages-type business directories, so searches for other sites, such as parks and public attractions, come up a bit short. The good news is that all these services are being continually updated and improved, and there's a good chance that we won't see these problems the next time we look at all of them.

The third search choice, "Get directions," also presents a dual set of search windows, one for your starting address and a second for your destination. If Google Local recognizes your address, this works very well and returns a very straightforward set of printable driving directions.

No matter which search you use, it returns a list of results along the left side of your screen, with little red tabs placed over each location on the map. Clicking a tab pulls up a small window on the map, providing the business's address, phone number, and other information.

We found that we missed the flexibility of Google's pleasantly straightforward keyword search. Adding at least an intersection search capability would be very helpful for local searches in which you're searching for something with only a vague idea of its location, or if you just want to bring up what you think is a nearby intersection on the map to start looking around (without having to zoom in on the map and scroll until you see the streets).

As with all the other services we reviewed here, we think there's room for improvement in finding some local attractions and nonprofit locations, even if it's just the way their relevance is ordered within returned results. We know this isn't a reflection on search technology, but of how non-profits and other public agencies and entities are often listed in the directories that all these search services use.

For instance, when we were trying to find the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum here in Manhattan, entering "Intrepid" produced results for lots of things with Intrepid in the name, mostly businesses. The museum is hard to miss, as it is located on a retired World War II aircraft carrier. The closest match high up in the results was actually the Intrepid Foundation, whose location is in the middle of Manhattan. Clicking on that listing, though, did reveal related links, including a URL for the museum itself. Searching the map for "aircraft carrier" also revealed links to the museum, but the tabs placed on the map were in the center of Manhattan.

The point here is that, as with all the services, there is room for improvement in the way things are cross-referenced, the way search results are ordered, and how easily an item can be dug out of search results, especially when you're starting from a vague or general search.

One feature we liked a lot was being able to click and drag the map rather than having to rely on scroll button