• Softpedia, Wednesday, February 2, 2011 11:51 AM

Who says Google doesn't get social? Reviews from its new Hotpot place recommendation service will now be incorporated directly in search results. "So say you're looking for a restaurant in Barcelona," explains Google product manager Lior Ron. "If a friend has rated a particular restaurant, you might see their rating and what they had to say about it -- as well as their name and photo -- directly beneath that restaurant's listing." If users only want to see the recommendations from friends, they can select the Places filter from the left sidebar and then select "Just friends."

According to Softpedia, "Google Hotpot is growing at a fast pace, indicating that the company is very focused on the location space." In addition, Hotpot is also going global with translations in 38 languages. Hotpot was also recently integrated into Google Maps, enabling users to keep up with what their friends are up to even if they're not visiting Hotpot.

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