Route Planner Plots 1,200-mile 'Detour'

A detour of an incredible 1,200 miles - that's what motorists in Norway are being sent on by a top-selling route planner.

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02nd February 2005

Drivers wanting to travel north along the coast from the fjord town of Haugesund to Trondheim should face a 400-mile journey. But anyone using the computer-based MapPoint system - developed by global PC giant Microsoft - will be diverted through seven other European countries, including a ferry ride and a trip through the Channel Tunnel!

When the software calculates the route, it suggests travellers head west instead of north and catch a boat across the North Sea to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Drivers then head south through England, round the M25 and on to Folkestone in Kent. Next up is a ride through the Channel Tunnel to France, then north through Belgium, Holland and Germany. Danish and Swedish roads lie ahead for weary drivers, before it's passports out again for a return to Norway. Anyone who follows this convoluted route will arrive in Trondheim an amazing 116 driving instructions and 1,600 miles later!

The crazy route is currently being discussed in Internet chatrooms - although there's no evidence anyone has been foolish enough to follow it. When we called Microsoft, a spokeswoman admitted that there was a bug in the ΂£200 route planner.

She said: "We work with leading data providers to get the most accurate information. In this case, one road was attributed incorrectly, causing the error in calculating the route." She added that Microsoft was working on a fix, which should be available to the Norwegians soon.