The Isle of Man is mapped out and available online

In the next stage Dan will add features like woodland, streams and footpaths

For the first time a comprehensive series of Isle of Man maps have been made available online.

The project has taken Manxman Dan Karran around five years so far and is not finished yet.

In the next stage he will add features like woodland, streams, footpaths, parks, tourist attractions and shops.

Dan said: "It has been a massive undertaking, I have spent a lot of time driving around the roads of the Island with a GPS unit".

He added: "I'm not the only person involved- in 2008 a group mapped the Island's roads from end to end over the course of a few days.

I've been building the map as a hobby and I'd love to see others making use of it Dan Karran

"We also have a walker mapping out countryside footpaths and a cyclist who has mapped all sorts of detail around Port St Mary."

The aim of themap.im is to start making maps free and available for people to use online but Dan hopes the project will grow over time as people contribute information.

"I've been building the map as a hobby and I'd love to see others making use of it. I'd like to get some local businesses onto the map and best of all-it's free."

The OpenStreetMap works on similar principles to Wikipedia

One of the purposes of the OpenStreetMap project was to start a new map which was free of the restrictions that maps usually have.

Maps created as part of the project are available for anyone to use under a Creative Commons Attribution - Share-Alike.

This arrangement means that anyone is free to use the data as long as they say where it came from and offer any further improvements back to the project in a similar concept to Wikipedia.

During his time working on themap.im Dan says he has worked with a range of different people.

From enthusiasts who have walked the streets to help with mapping, cartographers at the Isle of Man government who have given access to aerial photography and even the team involved with Google maps.

"We have been given some very positive feedback so far- someone said it is one of the best maps of its kind available of the Island".

All map images used in this article are copyright of OpenStreetMap and contributors, CC-by-SA.