Hotmail Now Integrates with Bing Maps and More

In another great example of Microsoft tying its different services together, Windows Live Hotmail now integrates with Bing Maps. According to the Bing team, when you create a new email, one of the new options on the Insert Menu in Hotmail is “From Bing.” It sits to the right of the standard “Insert” options like “Attachments” and “Photos.”

From this menu, you can select one of the following: “clip art,” “videos,” “webpages,” and “Maps and Places.” Using any of these options lets you automatically insert content pulled from Bing, but probably the most useful will be the option to insert content from Bing Maps.

When you select this option, a task pane opens on the right-hand side of your screen, allowing you to search for a location or pull up a location you’ve previously saved. You can optionally edit the details of the item or just click “insert” to add it to your email.

That’s definitely a handy feature to have when trying to share directions via email – you don’t even have to go to another web page, you can do it all from your inbox.