India, Sept. 5 -- Member states of the United Nations on September 4 endorsed a resolution promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents, a statement by the global organisation noted.

The countries endorsed the resolution 164 votes to one. The sole vote against was cast by the United States, which dismissed the initiative as part of a "radical ideological project."

Six countries - Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine - abstained.

The vote was the culmination of an African-led campaign against the 16th-century Mercator projection, still the most widely used map in the world. It is named after Gerardus Mercator (or Gerard de Cremer to give him his real Flemish name).

According to ...