Have you ever been stuck at the mall, unable to find the nearest bathroom, coffee shop or ATM? Don't worry shoppers. There's now an app for that. And it is being released just in time for the holidays.

Point Inside -- the stealthy startup led by former RealNetworks executive Kevin Foreman -- today is taking the wraps off a new iPhone application that allows shoppers to browse interactive maps of more than 250 malls across the country. That means someone at Bellevue Square could easily find the Crate & Barrel. Or a shopper at Pacific Place could pinpoint the elevators.

"What we are doing is mapping the indoor world," explains Foreman, who most recently led the Seattle online fashion startup Bevy.

Bevy didn't make it, but Foreman thinks he's stumbled on a powerful idea with Point Inside.

Of course, with more than 100,000 apps in Apple's App store, it can be tough to rise above the clutter. But Foreman thinks Point Inside has some advantages going its way.

For one, some of the mall developers and retailers have agreed to promote the offering in their stores and common spaces once the initial trial ends.

Furthermore, Foreman said there's really nothing like it on the market.

"There are 2,300, last we counted, location-based services apps on the iPhone, and not one of them have indoor maps and navigation," he said.

Foreman

With the launch today of the free iPhone app, Point Inside will have maps for 18 malls in Washington state. Those include Alderwood Mall, Tacoma Mall, Redmond Town Center and University Village, with Foreman saying that shoppers can download the maps to their phone and access the information even if a Wi-Fi or cellular network is not available.

Point Inside plans to make money by charging mall developers a small monthly fee to run calendar listings next to the mall maps. As part of the fee, it also will offer mall developers access to the directory so they can update the maps and retrieve reports on activity.

The 7-person startup also is charging retailers for monthly reports, as well as the ability to run special promotions related on the map. The company has already inked partnerships with mall developers and retailers, but Foreman declined to name them

In some cases, Point Inside is requesting the maps from mall developers. In other cases, it is taking the information directly from their Web sites. But the information is not always up to date, with stores occasionally moving or going out of business.

In order to make sure the information is as current as possible, the company has hired part-time workers to walk malls to verify store locations. There are about 5,000 malls in the U.S., with Point Inside planning to have maps on about half of them.

For now, the company is sticking with malls. But, over time, it could expand to other places where people need directions. Two possibilities include airports and sports stadiums.

"The technology has some pretty interesting applications to other indoor venues," said Foreman, noting that the company's staff has more than 20 patents in the location-based services arena. After the initial trials with the iPhone app, Foreman said the company plans to expand the concept to other mobile devices.

Last month, the company raised $700,000 in angel financing. Its advisers and board members include former Bank of America Vice Chairman Luke Helms; former Gap Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Jones; and former United Airlines vice president Jim Brennan.

John Cook is co-founder of TechFlash. Follow on Twitter @johnhcook.