Check your Google Maps today as there’s likely another update waiting for you.  Google has rolled out v5.8 today which largely focuses on improved support for Places. Users can now upload photos directly from their handset to tie to a Place, making it much easier to see what kind of establishment you are considering for dinner. Should you have a Picasa account, you’ll also be able to manage uploaded images directly from the “Photos for Google Maps” tab.

Also part of the 5.8 update are the descriptive terms and “My Places” features announced for desktops just a few weeks back. Now you can type “best ice cream” or whatever term you’re looking for to see where to go for desserts. Starred and recently viewed Places are collected in the My Places section, accessible directly from within Maps.

Let’s pretend you want to check in to a restaurant, shop, or venue but it’s not listed in Places. Google Maps now let users create Places on the fly simply by tapping a button and filling in a few bits of info. Once created, you and everyone else can check in using Google Latitude.

Finally, that “download map area” that came with the previous release of Google Maps? That’s been renamed to a much smarter sounding, ‘Pre-cache map area.’