Google updated their charts API, which they first released back in December 2007. First of all, the old limit of 50,000 queries per user per day has been removed (though Google asks you email them if you receive more than 250,000 queries a day so they can better scale this).

Also, there are several extended or new features. Among them are radar charts, sparklines, and maps. The last one is perhaps the most interesting, as it lets you display and color a map. While you can already use the Google Maps API for certain needs, this is a much more minimalist map that might come in handy for illustrations, games, traffic visualization and other things. As usual, generating maps or any other chart type consists of simply formulating a special URL.