Google brings location-based search to the iPhone

Google has launched a new My Location feature for Google.com on the iPhone, designed to provide location-based search for users of the Apple smartphone.

IPhone and iPod Touch owners with the iPhone 3.0 software update installed can visit Google.com through the Safari browser and will be presented with new text below the search box, encouraging them to 'find restaurants, shops and bars near you!'.

Clicking on the My Location hyperlink will trigger a pop up asking whether the user wants to use the current location. Agreeing to this will generate a blue dot below the search box alongside the user's location.

Google will then return search results based on that location using the information from the phone's built-in GPS.

"As always, your privacy is one of our top concerns," wrote Google Mobile product manager Joshua Siegel in a blog post. "Google won’t use your location in search unless you explicitly opt in. And you can always disable the feature from Preferences at the bottom of the homepage."

The new feature is available to US and UK users initially, with multi-lingual and multinational support to come, the firm said.

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