Google

Google said today it would include Amber alerts in search and maps as part of an effort to heighten awareness of missing children and assist in their safe return.

Amber alerts, which are coordinated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, will provide data about new cases through Google's Public Alerts platform.

The alerts will pop up in Google Search and Maps in both desktop and mobile whenever a user searches for related information in a particular location where a child has recently been reported missing. The alerts will also appear if users search for a related subject, such as the name of the missing child or child abductions in general.

"By increasing the availability of these alerts through our services, we hope that more people will assist in the search for children featured in AMBER Alerts and that the rates of safe recovery will rise," Google's Phil Coakley said in a blog post.

The alerts will include information about the child and details about the case, such as the type of vehicle the child was last seen in or information about the person believed to have abducted the child.

Google eventually plans to bring the alerts service to Canada and Europe.