Developer.com is running an outstanding series of tutorials on the Google Maps API, check 'em out: Part 1: Integrating Google Maps into Your Web ApplicationsPart 2: Retrieving Map Location CoordinatesPart 3: Building a Geocoding Web ServicePart 4: Build Your Own Geocoding Solution with Geo::Coder::USPart 5: Introducing Google's Geocoding ServicePart 6: Performing HTTP Geocoding with the Google Map