Times Square is just one click away

May 29, 2007 07:52 GMT  ·  By

3-D imagery of New York City has been added to the Microsoft Live Search Maps, and can now be accessed from the comfort of your own home with the desktop as your window. With this move, the Redmond Company has filled in the missing cityscape from Virtual Earth's catalog of 3D imagery. While the Big Apple was indeed integrated into Virtual Earth, photo-realistic 3-D imagery of the city is made available as of May 29, 2007.

"Have you always wanted to visit New York City, but never had the chance to make it happen? Have you lived in the city for years, but still struggle to find your way around? Microsoft Corp. is making it easy to find the city landmarks, people and businesses that are important to you - giving you a sense of what it's like to really be there - with the launch of New York City in 3-D," reads an excerpt of the Microsoft press release announcing the new imagery.

But Microsoft has not focuses exclusively on New York. As a matter of fact, the Redmond Company is also introducing 3-D cityscapes of no less than eight additional cities. Austin, Cape Coral, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Northampton, Ottawa, Savannah and Tampa will all be available to Live Search Maps users. As far as New York is concerned, Times Square, Central Park, Wall Street, Rockefeller Plaza are just a few of the famous landmarks across the city that have been mapped in 3D.

"Microsoft Live Search Maps will today begin offering three-dimensional, photo-realistic views of New York City buildings and landscapes, with perspectives that few people - apart from Superman - have ever seen. The free online service will provide a unique look at many of New York's iconic locations, along with local listings, ratings and reviews and driving directions to help people easily find, discover, plan and share relevant location information that is important to them on the Web. The 3-D imagery of New York City will debut along with similar aerial perspectives of several other Canadian, U.K. and U.S. cities, with many more cities worldwide expected to be available by the end of summer," Microsoft added.