• Read Write Web, Tuesday, January 3, 2012 11:55 AM

In still more Google news, the multifaceted Web giant just launched its U.S. elections portal. Just in time for the Iowa caucuses, the site features news, calendars, maps and videos, as well as online tools for voters, campaign organizers and reporters to use. “The Google.com/elections site's navigation allows browsing by candidate or issue,” ReadWriteWeb notes.

“It also features a ‘Trends’ browser, showing how candidates are doing in Google search, Google News mentions and YouTube views, and an 'On the Ground' viewer showing stories overlaid on a map.” The Google Politics & Elections Google+ page will share the latest updates. According to RWW, Google began a thorough overhaul of its political resources in October. It shut down the previous incarnation, the Public Sector and Elections Lab, and launched the Google Politics and Elections Team.

In its own words, the new team planned to "build tools to connect voters to the electoral process.” A global recourse for democracy, Google recently launched an election hub for Egypt, which held its first elections since longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak was ousted. Adds RWW: “Today's launch of the U.S. elections page offers a similar set of features to empower voters and enhance campaigns, all built on Google's platform of valuable Web tools.”

Read the whole story at Read Write Web »