July 2008 represents yet another step further in the evolution of Microsoft Virtual Earth. Just over the past week, Microsoft added a new 14.3 terabyte (TB) update to Virtual Earth and expanded the team responsible for the service with the Photosynth project from Live Labs research. Chris Pendleton, Virtual Earth Technical Evangelist announced both the expansion of the Virtual Earth team and the introduction of new content, but Microsoft subsequently pulled down the post related to Photosynth.

"Ever since the launch of Photosynth, there's been much discussion about the natural synergy of it and Microsoft Virtual Earth. Well, it's now official that you can begin additional speculation on what it means that we've moved the Photosynth team into the Virtual Earth product group. No longer is Photosynth just a Live Labs research project - it no(w) has full funding and backing from the Virtual Earth team. It helps that we get all of the people that worked on it too," Pendleton revealed at the end of the past week.

The Photosynth technology permits the creation of navigable 3D environments built from 2D digital images. Since the introduction of the project, Microsoft has offered a few collections for exploration to end users including Piazza San Pietro, Rome; Grassi Lakes; Piazza San Marco, Venice; Gary Faigin Art Studio; Gyeongbokgung and more. In this context, and since Pendleton invited speculation, Microsoft seems to get Virtual Earth ready for yet another modality in which users will be able to navigate content.

So far, Virtual Earth users can explore Oblique (Bird's Eye), Satellite and Ortho imagery. With the addition of Photosynth, some locations are bound to become three dimensional spaces constructed from 2D images, with photos coming from Microsoft but also uploaded by users. And speaking of imagery, the 14.3 TB update in July contains new Oblique (Bird's Eye), Satellite and Ortho photographs covering mainly the U.S. and Europe.