Microsoft launches 3-D maps for Web search

[paragkalra]

Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> said on Monday it introduced three-dimensional maps of 15 U.S. cities in an effort to beef up its Web search offering to better compete with market leader Google Inc. <GOOG.O>

Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D compiles photo images to generate photo-realistic 3-D models of buildings and landscape in cities including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and Dallas.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/06/AR2006110600645.html

[anandk]

What’s unique about Virtual Earth 3D compared to the competition?:

Virtual Earth 3D platform runs within the browser. Google Earth’s 3D program is standalone and requires a separate download.

Google Earth 3D provides grey scale boxes of buildings. Virtual Earth 3D provides an immersive textured mapping experience with photorealistic textured buildings that are created by our Virtual Earth product team.

Google relies on developers to incorporate textures to buildings for their 3D mapping experience. Virtual Earth 3D has the capability of providing photorealistic textured buildings in-house.

All of VE 3D’s immersive mapping experience is created in-house, from the cameras themselves to the algorithmic program that develops the textured 3D models.

must try it out...