http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/07/09/aols-mapquest-looks-to-wikipedia-model-for-mapping/

Excerpts:

MapQuest, the No. 2 Internet-mapping service after Google’s, is
taking the first steps toward a Wikipedia-like model — in which
users would generate the maps themselves and combine the results
for everyone to use.

The company, a subsidiary of AOL, plans to announce Friday
morning that it is launching a site in the U.K. based on a
project called OpenStreetMap, which is dedicated to
user-created mapping.

[...]

The main MapQuest site will still use mapping data that the
company purchases, but the idea is that eventually, MapQuest maps
could rely on many users who keep track of their own corner of
the world.

“We fundamentally believe that community-contributed mapping will
be better than any closed platform,” said Jon Brod, the executive
vice president of AOL Ventures, Local and Mapping, in an
interview with Digits.