It’s a source of great satisfaction that one of Google’s most beloved products, Google Maps, was developed right here in Australia (Sydney). In 2003, brothers Lars and Jens Rasmussen formed Where 2 Technologies, a mapping technology company that a year later was acquired by Google.

A few weeks ago Lars Rasmussen delivered the annual Warren Centre Innovation Lecture in which he provided a detailed account of the development of Google Maps, and his more recent project, Google Wave. If you’ve ever wanted to turn a good idea into a commercial reality, you’ll enjoy the video of this talk.