Tele Atlas will put a recognisable face to the names of local landmarks in its upcoming GPS (global positioning satellite) maps to help drivers find their way around the streets of Singapore.

The company, which supplies digital maps to companies like Nokia, Blackberry and a host of other makers of in-car navigational systems, is planning to release a three-dimensional (3D) version of its local offering by the end of this year.

GPS units that are available today offer a bird's eye view of road information, complemented by turn-by-turn voice navigation, to direct users to their desired destinations.

However, Tele Atlas' upcoming Singapore map will show buildings in 3D detail, so instead of relying in part on guesswork, users can instantly identify their end points.

And instead of a top-down view, 3D GPS navigation will allow for a real-life view as the user drives through the city, much like popular first-person racing games on computers and gaming consoles.

For a start, the upcoming local map will only show famous local landmarks and buildings like The City Hall and Fullerton Hotel in full 3D glory, while others will be represented by generic square blocks, according to Arnout Desmet, Tele Atlas' managing director for South and South-east Asia.

Graphic information on buildings and other points of interest are captured through a number of roving vans that are mounted with cameras and gyroscopes.

The data collected is then rendered into computer graphics to create the new and improved digital map.

Using these vehicles, the firm has already created a full 3D map of Frankfurt that shows all buildings and even individual shop fronts in full detail. Similar plans are in the pipeline for Singapore but Mr Desmet said the data collection process is a long and 'tedious' effort that cannot be completed by this year.

Besides providing directions alone, future GPS systems will also feature other improvements. 'They will include videos, photos, tour guides, restaurant reviews and even coupons,' Mark Steele, chief operating officer of Tele Atlas Asia-Pacific, told reporters at a media briefing last week.

The company, which started out in Boston, has been aggressively expanding into Asia as the GPS navigational systems are increasingly finding favour with tech-savvy users in the region, he added.

As part of this effort, Tele Atlas last week opened its regional headquarters in Singapore. Business functions like IT support and human resources for the entire region are centralised here. The office also houses the firm's sales staff and a small team responsible for maintaining and updating its digital map of Singapore.

Tele Atlas' digital maps now cover nine Asian countries including Australia, China, Malaysia and Thailand and it plans to add India to the list later this year.