In a move that has raised eyebrows among established players in the classified real-estate business, Google Australia has unveiled a new tool on its mapping service that will directly link buyers and renters to available property.

The Google Maps feature, which launched today in Australia and New Zealand, will host free listings supplied by real-estate agents and publishers.

An example of a property search in the US version of Google Maps.

Although many existing publishers and real-estate agents offer map-based searching, the maps on Google's new service will reflect real-time changes in search criteria and location.

The technology behind this enhancement was developed by engineers at Google's Sydney office and is also being rolled out on the company's existing property search service in the United States.