Google has added a local search tool to its Search Option panel. The Nearby option only works for google.com searches in English.

Here’s what you do:

Do a search in Google for let’s say “Chinese restaurant”. Normally you would have added your geographical location to the query: “Chinese restaurant Oslo”.

Instead click on the link to the Search Option panel. Then click on the Nearby link found in the left hand column of the search results page.

I must admit my own experiment (searching for “kinesiske restauranter” from a location in Oslo, Norway) failed miserably, as google.com gave me a list of Copenhagen restaurants! Norway split from Denmark in 1814, so this was a bit of a disappointment.

Google finds your location based on your IP adress. However, it is possible to fill in the location manually. When I did so, I got a mix of Danish restaurants and Google Maps listings of Chinese restaurants in Oslo.

I guess the reason is that this feature only works in the US.

The Google Blog has more.

photo credit: KellyB.