Google Maps has fallen victim to vandalism, after a small region in Pakistan was edited to include a peculiar image of the Android robot urinating on the Apple logo.
The image, which appeared as a green land area just south of Rawalpindi, Pakistan, appeared on both the desktop and Android versions of Google Maps for a few hours on Friday.
Not far from the image was an additional digital mischief that featured a sad face with the message "Google review policy is crap".
As the images were discovered and screenshots shared around the web, both were removed after they were reportedly terminated by Google.
It is understood the images were created through Google Map Maker, a crowd-sourced program which allows users to add and edit maps, similarly to the way users contribute to Wikipedia pages.
The widely-shared images attracted attention on internet forums, particularly from those in the "team-Android" camp.
"When you edit, it is reviewed typically by a senior member in that locality. So this honour goes to both the user who edited it and the one who approved it," said one commenter, Adil Soomro, on tech blog Team Android.
In a statement to US media, Google apologised for the inappropriate image and said it was working to step up verification of user edits on its Map Maker platform.
"Handling spam is a complex issue and we're continuously working on ways to improve our systems, including new ways of preventing, detecting and taking down incorrect edits," Google told the news website TechCrunch.
The statement added that "the vast majority of users who edit our maps provide great contributions, such as mapping places that have never been mapped before, or adding new business openings or address changes".
Fairfax Media and agencies
