This plug-in adds support for the OpenStreetMap (OSM) raster layers.
OpenStreetMap is a free and editable map, made by people like you. OpenStreetMap provides detailed information and covers pretty much the whole world.
At the moment this plug-in only reads the OSM raster data. It does not read or edit the OSM vector data. Since the OSM licencing model is far less strict than Google's, this layer can be a perfect alternative for the Google street maps.