Bing tries to one-up Google with user images

Microsoft as part of its efforts at the TED conference has launched a test version of Bing Streetside Photos for its map searches. The feature overlays geotagged, Creative Commons-licensed images from Flickr on to locations at the street-level view and provides alternative views of locations cued to Bing's own positioning. The shots can not only include those at night but those from an entirely different era.

The views are currently only available in San Francisco and Seattle for Americans as well as Olympics' home of Vancouver, BC in Canada. It's not clear how soon the feature would expand to other cities.

A more experimental addition has also been shown and would bring live webcam views also linked to street images. The technique would theoretically be helpful for checking on the conditions at real-world locations in real time, such as checking the lineup at a club or restaurant before leaving home. Microsoft won' say how soon this could be worked into Bing but says users could be "pleasantly surprised" at what it will do within a year.

By Electronista Staff