April's Virtual Earth Updates

The Virtual Earth team had a busy April, adding 22 TB of data throughout the month to bring us even more Bird's Eye and aerial imagery to Virtual Earth/Live Search Maps. The update included new images in both formats for certain areas worldwide, and Bird's Eye images added for major cities in Canada (Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, Victoria, Edmonton, Vancouver), Australia (Gold Coast, Sydney, Hobart, Wollongong), and parts of Europe (UK, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Greece). However, my favorite new images from this update are the Bird's Eye images of the Sydney Opera House. By using the rotate buttons in VE, I could see the Opera House from angles that you usually never see in photos of the iconic landmark.

I'm constantly impressed by VE's imagery - even my house (which is outside of Tampa in Pasco County, Florida - an area that doesn't often get updated), shows up in both aerial and Bird's Eye view with recent images (I can tell because of our brand-new landscaping in the yard), while other mapping services still show outdated images of my neighborhood. Check to see if your house has a Bird's Eye view of it yet - you'll be impressed! (via LiveSide)