An updated set of map data for Windows Phone devices is now available, for many countries, from Nokia's download servers. You can download the updated data by heading into Settings -> Applications -> Maps on your Windows Phone 8 device (or Nokia Drive on Windows Phone 7 Lumia devices) and choosing the "check for updates" option.

The phone will check for updates for maps that you already have installed on your device, and then ask you whether you want to proceed with the update. The download was around 250MB for me in the UK, but this will obviously vary, depending on which maps you have chosen to have offline.

The install is quick and makes sure that you have the latest junctions, road fixes and new routes pre-programmed into your phone. Although you can trust us to keep an eye on updates in the future, I'd recommend you check for updates yourself every month or two, as well.

These offline maps are also used by Nokia Drive, for the Windows Phone 8 devices that have this built-in or installed.

Nokia recently detailed some of the effort that goes into updating its maps in this post on the Nokia Conversations blog. The process is continuous with updates taken from both user feedback, local experts, aerial and satellite photography, and a fleet of data collection vehicles.

For example, in the UK in the last 6 months the company has added or amended:

• 65,957 km of road
• 26,452 street names
• 2,483 turn restrictions
• 3,203 roundabouts
• 869 one way streets
• 13 sections of motorway
• 7,900 road directional signs
• 5,232 speed limits.

The same figures for the last 18 months are:

• 133,510 km of road
• 56,422 street names
• 7,288 turn restrictions
• 6,788 roundabouts
• 2,400 one way streets
• 103 sections of motorway
• 13,382 road directional signs
• 15,083 speed limits