Yahoo launches India Maps beta a day before AOL is to launch its portal for Indian users Yahoo has launched new map services in India on Wednesday, a day before AOL is scheduled to launch its portal in the country.The company’s Indian R&D center in Bangalore will also be the hub for new product engineering for emerging markets including India and Brazil, Yahoo cofounder David Filo told reporters in Bangalore on Wednesday.India’s online advertising revenue is currently only about $60 million a year, but is expected to grow at about 50 percent annually, George Zacharias, managing director of Yahoo India told reporters. About 85 percent of the country’s Internet users visit Yahoo, and the company’s track record of innovation in India will help it counter competition, he said. In addition to launching new services, Yahoo has focused on the Indian languages market. In February, the company launched portals in seven Indian languages, as well as local language plug-ins for its instant messenger service. And later this year, it plans to introduce local language plug-ins for its e-mail service as well.The aim is to target Internet users who are not comfortable with English, Zacharias said.The Yahoo India Maps beta launched Wednesday provides street-level, satellite map, and hybrid maps of over 170 cities, 4,785 towns, and 220,000 villages across India. CE Infosystems has provided the data for the maps. The maps service addresses Indian government concerns about undue exposure of sensitive defense and other installations, Yahoo said. Rival Google came under fire from the Indian government for allowing its Google Earth service to expose these installations.Yahoo India Maps will be also available on mobile phones down the line, Zacharias said.On Wednesday, Yahoo also launched Yahoo India Our City beta for 20 cities, which feature local maps, snaps, videos, and news from each of these cities. Some of the content will be user generated, Yahoo said. Software Development