A digital-focused German artist has revealed how he created a 'virtual traffic jam' in Google Maps.
Users of the well-known mapping service can plan their journeys with information on real-time traffic conditions.
Berlin-based Simon Weckert saw this feature as an opportunity to see whether the service could be tricked into thinking there was a traffic jam - when in reality there wasn't.
In a video posted to YouTube, 99 smartphones are seen being carted through Weckert's city streets, giving the impression of a backlog of cars.
He explains by connecting the phones to the Google app for driving directions it was possible to fool it into telling users to avoid the area.
"Through this activity, it is possible to turn a green street red which has an impact in the physical world by navigating cars on another route," he writes.
One Twitter user replied to his post saying his idea was "genius", while another commented the hack could be used "to reduce traffic in your neighborhood".
Watch the video.
