The US state department has said a planned visit to North Korea by Google chairman Eric Schmidt is unhelpful.

BBC: US cool on Google's Eric Schmidt visiting North Korea

The EU and Korea are both investigating Google, and in the U.S., both the DOJ and the FTC are competing to lead a U.S. anti-monopolization investigation of Google.

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But he dismissed speculation that it was connected to the recent visit to North Korea by the head of Google, Eric Schmidt.

BBC: North Korea allows foreign visitors to use own mobiles

Almost immediately after he announced the product with a one-paragraph note on the Google company blog, developers in South Korea and Russia were testing his code.

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And in South Korea - Samsung's home - video games from the Google Play store did outsell those from Apple's App Store.

BBC: Smart device games outsell portable console titles

Hwang Min-woo, a 28-year-old South Korean who contributed to the North Korea map, said he began working on it after trying to use Google Maps on a trip to Laos four years ago and finding it inadequate.

WSJ: Google Maps Details Streets, Prison Camps in North Korea