Google Maps v2 Compatibility w/ IE8

I can’t seem to find a straight answer to this so am asking here in the hopes someone may know. Is Google maps v2 only compatible with IE8 via forcing it into IE7 compatibility mode? I manage several sites that work fine with v2 on ALL browsers except IE8 (probably IE9, f**k IE) and I would appreciate an answer. I just learned about this today, I just don’t understand how the hell something can work on the piles of trash that are IE6 and IE7 yet not work on IE8, its mind boggling.

Thanks

Good question.

I’m looking at the Google Maps JavaScript API V2 page in IE 9, and the developer tools seem to be telling me that Browser Mode is IE8, and Document Mode is IE8 Standards.

How about in IE8? (winds up laptop)
Yep, sure enough, IE8 uses a Document Mode of IE7 Standards on that page.

I do see though that the page uses a Transitional DOCTYPE.

I don’t know about your own pages yet, but perhaps you would like to have a look through this informative article: How IE8 Determines Document Mode