Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D vs. Google Earth

Google has created many interesting programs and Google Earth is definitely one of them. But it seems Microsoft has an answer - Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D.

Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D is better in some regards than Google Earth, and worse in others. Virtual Earth 3D is visually definitely very impressive. Running directly in the browser Microsoft currently feature 15 cities (like Seattle, Boston, Atlanta and San Francisco) in 3D, but not the Google Earth type 3D, fully texture mapped 3D direct from the server. Virtual Earth's building detail is a lot finer than Google Earth's (See videos).

You can dowload and try Virtual Earth 3D here. (free download)

Overview:

System Requirements:

• Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2003; Windows Vista; Windows XP
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, Windows Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 1.5, or Firefox 2.0
• 250 MB or more hard disk space
• A 1 GHz processor (2.8 GHz or faster recommended)
• 256 MB of system memory (1 GB recommended)
• 32 MB video card (256 MB recommended) that supports Microsoft DirectX 9
• A high speed or broadband Internet connection