The new software released Wednesday will enable people with mobile phones and other wireless devices to automatically share their whereabouts with family and friends.

The feature, dubbed “Latitude,” expands upon a tool introduced in 2007 to allow mobile phone users to check their own location on a Google map with the press of a button.

“This adds a social flavor to Google maps and makes it more fun,” said Steve Lee, a Google product manager.

It could also raise privacy concerns, but Google is doing its best to avoid a backlash by requiring each user to manually turn on the tracking software and making it easy to turn off or limit access to the service.

Google also is promising not to retain any information about its users movements. Only the last location picked up by the tracking service will be stored on Googles computers, Lee said.

The software plots a users location – marked by a personal picture on Googles map – by relying on cell phone towers, global positioning systems or a Wi-Fi connection to deduce their location. The system can follow peoples travels in the United States and 26 other countries.

Its left up to each user to decide who can monitor their location.

The social mapping approach is similar to a service already offered by Loopt Inc., a 3-year-old company located near Googles Mountain View headquarters.

Loopts service is compatible with more than 100 types of mobile phones.

To start out, Google Latitude will work on Research In Motion Ltd.s BlackBerry and devices running on Symbian software or Microsoft Corp.s Windows Mobile. It will also operate on some T-Mobile phones running on Googles Android software and eventually will work on Apple Inc.s iPhone and iTouch.

To widen the softwares appeal, Google is offering a version that can be installed on personal computers as well.

The PC access is designed for people who dont have a mobile phone but still may want to keep tabs on their children or someone else special, Lee said. People using the PC version can also be watched if they are connected to the Internet through Wi-Fi.

There are no current plans to sell any advertising alongside Googles tracking service, although analysts believe knowing a persons location eventually will unleash new marketing opportunities. Google has been investing heavily in the mobile market during the past two years in an attempt to make its services more useful to people when theyre away from their office or home computers.

Google shares rose $2.55 to $343 Wednesday.

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