Many browsers support an ability to display images which show various functions that can be performed, e.g. go to a search page, open an account. The user chooses the function by selecting the appropriate spot on the image.
Image maps can be a problem for various people with disabilities.
Individuals with visual disabilities may have trouble identifying which functions are available or which area to choose. People with learning disabilities may be confused by the image and cannot distinguish which function is assigned to which area of the image. A simple solution would be to add another attribute to the HTML AREA tag which would be similar to the ALT attribute for the IMG tag. The AREA ALT attribute would allow a name or description to be assigned to an area in an image map and function. The advantage to displaying both at the same time is that the table of links can help people with learning disabilities or partial visual disabilities understand the image and functions better.