OpenStreetMap is a free wiki map of the world, editable by anybody. Users use GPS traces or aerial imagery to add roads, footpaths and other vectors together with points of interest, such as cafes. It is three-and-a-half years old and has 26,000 users, growing at 2,000 a month all over the world.

The project consists of the main website, where the maps are viewable and editable. There is a wiki where many sub-projects and the community is organized. Most discussion occurs on the talk mailing list, but there are also lists for development and for individual countries around the world.

OpenStreetMap started because I wanted a map of my local area. I figured that if I used a GPS and others did too then we could collaboratively make a map of the world. When I started, the only maps you could use were copyrighted images from Microsoft MapPoint. Innovations like Google Maps have helped move the world on, but the underlying copyrighted data still remains - this is the problem I wanted to fix.

In 2005 OpenStreetMap had its first mapping party, where it ran an event in the Isle of Wight to map it in a weekend, with 30 to 40 people attending from around Europe. In July 2007, the OSM Foundation held the first OSM international conference, entitled "The State of the Map". In 2008 there will a second conference in Limerick, Ireland.

OpenStreetMap was founded in July 2004 by Stephen Coast. In April 2006, OSM began a process of transforming itself into a foundation. There is a core team of sysadmins of about four people and a larger group of about 20 programers. We have 26,000 users and about 2,500 per month edit the map in one way or another. Many of these users are not technically inclined but are motivated instead by a love of maps and mapping or political motivations where their government may hold a monopoly on map data (as in most of Europe).