Google has launched the Person Finder tool to help the affected people of Japan. Person Finder is a simple site that opens with the question, “What is Your Situation?” From there, users can select a link for “I’m Looking for Someone,” or “I Have Information About Someone.” The application already has thousands of records about people stored, and will remain in place as people in Japan struggle to reconnect with friends, relatives, colleagues and others. It’s also a useful resource for those outside Japan who may be looking for information about people who are there.
The tool is available in multiple languages. Google uses data from the social networking sites and across the Internet to find records on missing people – the company is currently tracking 64,600 records as of Saturday, March 12.
According to CNN, almost 80 percent of the Japanese population is online, and people are scouring social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook to find information from friends and family.
Visit the Person Finder Tool: 2011 Japan Earthquake page to use the Google service.
