Help buyers get a more concrete idea of the neighborhood with Microsoft Virtual Earth

Everyone seems to be familiar with Google Earth.  It is very cool to zoom in on your house from space, after all.  Have you ever tried mapping with Microsoft Virtual Earth?  It is very neat.  I've had buyers tell me it really helps give them an idea of where the new house is -- especially out of town buyers.

Go there, type in your address and see your home from about 750 or so feet up, just like Google Maps.  But then you can change the view.  Look at the same home looking toward the East, South, North or West.  This makes for an interesting dynamic in how one views the block or neighborhood.  Often all you can see are trees or backyards if they are abundant and the home is somewhat hidden but with each view of the home, it's somewhat different.

The 3-d version is in Beta now but you can download the 3-d version and wow, that's really a fantastic way for a prospective Columbus area home buyer to get a feeling for the potential new neighborhood.  You also have an option to download the Windows Live Local for Outlook which can add maps, routes, traffic updates, driving directions, and travel time to your Microsoft Office Outlook meeting requests.  I hate to sound like a commercial for Microsoft, and I do believe that Google will end up as the real estate mapping portal of choice someday, but I just think it's interesting.