Google has launched its turn-by-turn satellite navigation service in the UK.

Previously only available in the States, Google Maps Navigation comes free for Android users, providing they have version 1.6 or better of the OS.

The service will be voice driven, so you can say your destination to the phone, and it will plot a route.

In a Google Mobile blog post, the company commented: “With Google Maps Navigation, you can search by voice, and in plain English – just press the voice search button on your Android phone, say ‘navigate to Sainsbury’s,’ and Navigation will open automatically and guide you to the supermarket.”

Google Maps Navigation will pre-load the route, so there’s no need to worry if you drop connection along the way.

It will also have live traffic data, automatic re-routing, and provides a satellite map view to give you a better visualisation of your surroundings and landmarks.

One slight worry for the UK market is the range of thick accents we have over here making it tricky for the service to understand instructions.

Speaking very slowly is probably the order of the day (just pretend you’re abroad).

All this is, of course, another nail in the coffin of dedicated TomTom style sat-nav devices.

Particularly seeing as at the start of 2010, Nokia made a free turn-by-turn navigation offering available as well, Ovi Maps.