Microsoft's Virtual Earth

Microsoft's Virtual Earth is really a competitor to Google Maps, Google's browser-based local information service. Virtual Earth does have some features that Google Maps doesn't, such as its "Scratchpad"--a place to store addresses that also lets you quickly e-mail them, or insert them into a blog on MSN's Spaces service. It also has Permalinks--the ability to create a URL that links to a local map with whatever businesses or other addresses you've added to it. But Virtual Earth's standout feature is Locate Me, which figures out where you are so you can start to look for local information without bothering to type in your address. I think Virtual Earth seems more like it should be called Virtual USA because outside US I only found high-up aerial renderings of other regions, not local info or street maps. Virtual Earth is available at virtualearth.msn.com.