Microsoft, Google Chart New Map Views

Google Maps and Microsoft Live Search Maps released new ways of looking at the world through their products at the Where 2.0 conference.
3-D looks at the Big Apple and street views of Miami were two of the big announcements at Where 2.0 in San Jose. Microsoft and Google each attempted to out-splash the other with these impressive additions to their existing mapping products.

On the Google Maps side, the new feature called Street View provides 360-degree views of city streets. They launched with imagery from San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, and Denver.
Google also announced the launch of Mapplets, which enable third party developers to create mini applications that can be displayed on Google Maps, much like Google Gadgets are displayed on iGoogle. Mapplets contain a trove of third-party information about cities, like housing listings and crime data, for use in mashups.

Microsoft debuted its 3-D cityscapes on Live Search Maps at the conference. New York and several other cities in the US, Canada, and the UK received the expansive treatment.

The views Microsoft provided for New York show landmarks and notable locations in the city. Business listings feature Yellow Pages information and other details about local businesses.
People will be able to create custom maps and lists of places on Live Search Maps to share with others. Microsoft expects to have cityscapes available for a number of cities worldwide by the end of Summer 2007.

Source: www.webpronews.com