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MSN Gets into City Mapping |
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A new service called MSN VIrtual Earth is being
launched to take on Google's dominance of local
Business Searching.
Previewed Monday, the service is Geo mapping featuring
satellite imaging and ariel photography. At the
moment, people using mapping services can see rooftops
views only but with MSN Virtual Earth, the searcher
will be able to see a semi face-on view of the
Hamburger Joint or Laundromat he's looking for.
The immediate next step will be the option to overlay
different businesses on one image - maybe grocery
stores with pharmacies as examples.
A fleet of light airplanes is being used to take
pictures of 15 major US cities but MSN are being coy
about saying which ones. This set of pictures will add
hi-fidelity images to the service. The core service
will be available in the summer but the photography
won't follow until later in the year.
You can really establish that what-is-it-like-there
kind of feeling," Steven Lawler head of Microsoft's
MapPoint business said. "This is a game-changing kind
of imagery for the Internet and for this kind of
search experience we're trying to create".
Google already offers satellite imagery on its free
mapping service and Amazon's A9 search facility holds
around 20 million images of the exteriors of US
buildings.
Troy McKirk
SEO Expert
Jump2Top.Com
Search Engine Optimization Company |
