NORAD Drops Google Maps for 'Santa Tracker'

After five years of tracking Saint Nick, Google and NORAD are going their separate ways. The North American Aerospace Defense Command announced this week that it was now working with Microsoft Bing to follow Santa's worldwide progress, the Guardian reports. Google has launched its own "Santa tracker" including games and personalized calls from Saint Nick to children. But NORAD's tracking system will be no slouch, with data on Santa's elevation, photos of his journey, weather, and Wikipedia information on his various stops.

And NORAD will offer updates on Santa's trip via Twitter and YouTube. Twenty-five million people will likely use NORAD's tracker this year via Bing Maps and apps for Windows 8, Windows Phones, and Android phones, reports Business Insider. NORAD began tracking Santa when a misprint in a 1955 department store ad led a child to call the agency for information on Santa's latest stop. The NORAD employee who took the call made sure to answer, and the agency has maintained the tradition ever since. (More Santa Claus stories.)