Never one to let his competitors keep any type of advantage, MSN has announced the the “beta” launch of “Virtual Earth” – their answer to the additiona of satellite images to Google Maps.
What makes it different is that the images MSN will provide are taken not from satellite but from sleughs of planes and provides not jsut topographical images but 45 degree images as well (which is great visually but I don’t really see how it’ll help me find that new restaurant any faster). 
This comes to us through a press release yesterday by Pictometry who just signed a 5-year deal with Microsoft. You can read more on the details of this agreement and the upcoming launch of “Virtual Earth” on the Pictometry website at http://www.pictometry.com/pressrelease/msft.asp (Note: link removed as page no longer exists).
SEO news blog post by Dave Davies, CEO @ 7:39 pm
