In its nearly lost battle for the search engine market, Microsoft yesterday started a 3D mapping service (for some US cities first, and only available with the US live.com site, using Internet Explorer).
Three-dimensional models are built for 15 U.S. cities, with more to
come. The cities are San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle;
Boston; Philadelphia; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; Detroit; Phoenix;
Houston; Baltimore; Atlanta; Denver; Dallas; and Fort Worth, Texas.

I tried it but it did not work. Not sure if the servers were overloaded or if the fact that I am in Europe makes it more difficult right now.

Microsoft live is clearly just copying Google in every way and is now trying to add new differentiating functions. When Bill Gates was asked on the German TV news last night if he also uses Google when doing search on the web he of course recommended people "to use Microsoft live where they do truly amazing things and not just display awkward search results" (he meant Google of course). So as with Netscape in the browser war some time ago, Google is now right in the middle of Microsoft's radar screen. I have the gut feeling that the battle has by no means already been won by Google and that a few years down the road we might find Microsoft more on eye level with them. Maybe Gates last big "victory" before he "retires" to do more anthropological PR work for them.