As Harish mentioned earlier, the Virtual Earth Platform recently launched the first version of the Virtual Earth Web Services - a set of Web services that allow you to add mapping and search functionality to your application, including location finding, map imagery, and routing capabilities.

For example, you can:

• Use the Geocode Service to match a geographic entity or address to a location on the map, or find a geographic entity or address at a given location.
• Use the Imagery Service to:
• Return a link to a map with a pushpin at a specific location.
• Provide a road map or aerial or bird's eye imagery to your users.
• Use the Route Service to:
• Get directions that include traffic warnings and route hints between multiple locations.
• Get directions from all major roads to a destination (1-click directions, also referred to as a "party map") and then use the Imagery Service to map those routes.
• Use the Search Service to parse a search query that contains a location or keyword (or both), and to return search results.

Over the course of the next few weeks, various members of the Virtual Earth Platform will be writing in detail about the Virtual Earth Web Services.

Eugene Shinn

Senior Software Development Engineer, Virtual Earth Platform