As I wrote earlier MSN is now providing Virtual Earth Service. And you can visit http://www.virtualearth.com or http://local.live.com if you would like to try it. (built with MapPoint)
And, if you want try it on your own; you can find the documentation for Virtual Earth Standart Map Control SDK and MSN Virtual Earth SDK on MSDN. Also, there some samples and a gallery on http://www.viavirtualearth.com/
Btw, did you notice the BlogMap on the right? That is where I live...