In one illustrative example, a method for use in mapping a location in a computer device includes the steps of receiving an electronic file or message which includes a hypertext link mapping indicator associated with a uniform resource locator (URL) string having a server address and latitude and longitude coordinates; receiving, through a user interface of the computer device, an end user selection of the hypertext link mapping indicator in the electronic file or message; and in response to the end user selection of the hypertext link mapping indicator: if a predetermined type of mapping application is provided in the computer device, invoking a mapping function of the mapping application to produce a map of a location corresponding to the latitude and longitude coordinates for visual display in a display of the computer device (e.g. based on received maplet data); and if the predetermined type of mapping application type is not provided in the computer device, requesting and receiving map data from a map coordinating server identified by the server address of the URL string to produce a map of the location for visual display in the display (e.g. based on a bitmap image). Advantageously, processing of the received hypertext link mapping indicator is handled differently depending on the type of device or whether a predetermined mapping application is installed in the device, so that optimal mapping functionality is provided for different device environments.