Tuesday, 21 June 2005

MSN Launches Local Search Beta

Microsoft's MSN business unit has planted local roots. Monday, MSN announced a beta of an Internet search service that corrals local business and residential listings together with maps and satellite images. MSN Local Search follows rivals America Online, Google and Yahoo as the latest purveyor of geographic based Web searches, providing nearby business information, in addition to the local weather and other home-brewed happenings.

MSN blends these local search capabilities together with the company's Virtual Earth technology, a next-generation mapping service that overlays satellite imagery of actual buildings and neighborhoods onto maps in order to aid in directions.