MSN announces satellite-mapping service

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates has previewed new satellite-mapping technology designed to compete with local-search offerings from Google, Yahoo and Amazon.

Gates, presenting at the 'D' conference in Carlsbad, California, on Monday introduced MSN Virtual Earth, a map service that lets visitors zoom in on a local area and find information about restaurants, cafes, hotels, dry cleaners, and so on. Gates said the service will be available this summer.

MSN Virtual Earth will provide a "core set of reference points", such as maps, aerial imagery, photos, consumer and business directories, as well as ratings and reviews, according to the company.

Microsoft is fighting a rearguard action against the many new local-search and mapping tools from rivals. Google, for example, bought satellite mapping service Keyhole earlier this year and has introduced new interactive maps.

Amazon's A9.com is working on a US-wide project to take digital photos of all businesses for an online service called BlockView, which pairs photos to business information. Yahoo has also integrated Yahoo Maps and local search to create a data-rich source of regional services.

MSN Virtual Earth includes satellite maps with 45-degree views of buildings and neighborhoods, and an overlay of street images. It also includes an online clipboard, or scratch pad, so users can take notes while performing multiple searches.

The service will also include a Wiki-like feature that lets visitors and business owners add information about local services to the database.