The world's oldest map, etched into the wall of a cave in Spain 14,000 years ago, charted the best locations to hunt for food. Today companies are competing in their own hunt to control the future of mapping technology. Nokia, a telecoms-equipment maker, is looking to sell its digital-mapping division, Here, for up to $4 billion, according to reports, and may announce within weeks which of several bidders has won. Here is coveted prey because it is one of only three firms-the other two are Tom-Tom of the Netherlands and Google-that have mapped the world's streets extensively, at a time when mapping is becoming more important to the future of commerce and transport. Four-fifths of new cars with a built-in mapping system in North America and Europe use Here.
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