Mozilla Labs has released a Firefox plug-in called Geode that lets Web sites figure out a person's approximate geographic location and use it in online services. The downside is that users have to grant the software permission to access the information.

Geode taps into technology called Loki, written  by an outfit called Skyhook.  It finds your location based on the signals of nearby wireless networks.

Mozilla showed the technology at work inside a website called Food Finder that shows the user's approximate location and nearby dining establishments. Pownce, a microblogging site, is also using the technology to record users' locations as they post notes or photos.

Mozilla said that while Geode today uses Skyhook's service, Firefox 3.1 will be configurable to select other options as well, such as a GPS device. It hopes that the software will mean more intelligent online maps and the ability for local news based on where a person actually is located.

Other ideas include a Web site log-in process that only works if a person is at a specific location, and an RSS feed reader that changes what subscriptions it shows users depending on whether they're at work or home. X

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