Styled maps might be what you are looking for,
It's worth mentioning the wizard first (note that in #9, it should be styles, not style)
https://mapstyle.withgoogle.com
These are references:
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/javascript/reference.html#StyledMapType
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/javascript/styling.html
There's an example of a styled map in the static API
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/staticmaps/#StyledMaps
The saturation and lightness control the look. Less saturated = less color, more lightness = whiter
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<style type="text/css">
html, body, #map_canvas { margin: 0; padding: 0; height: 100% }
</style>
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://maps.googleapis.com/maps/api/js?sensor=false"></script>
<script type="text/javascript">
var map;
var grayStyles = [
{
featureType: "all",
stylers: [
{ saturation: -90 },
{ lightness: 50 }
]
},
];
var mapOptions = {
center: new google.maps.LatLng(41.325663, 19.8029607),
zoom: 15,
styles: grayStyles,
mapTypeId: google.maps.MapTypeId.ROADMAP
};
function initialize() {
map = new google.maps.Map(document.getElementById("map_canvas"), mapOptions);
}
google.maps.event.addDomListener(window, 'load', initialize);
</script>
</head>
<body>
<div id="map_canvas"></div>
</body>
</html>
