This was announced by Microsoft in a press report.   Along side the map, satellite and hybrid views in Live Search Maps, and the bird’s eye view, there is now a 3-D view.  According to Microsoft there are now 200 cities in full 3-D at the ready.  It’s also now possible for users to integrate their own 3-D models. Further, Microsoft now integrates the contents of user-generated content into the search results and directory databases.

Additionally the route planner has been revamped and improved.  When planning the travel routing, one can search via the fastest or shortest routes, but now can add the factors of actual road and traffic conditions, allowing the avoidance of traffic congestion.

With Live Search411, Microsoft has started a whole new local service offering.  Using the free number (800) CALL-411 (800-225-50411) users can call a speech based search service in the internet, via a telephone call when seeking local information.  One simply states where one seeks information (place and state) and what one is looking for (e.g. a company or listing). The caller then hears a list of service providers/companies, to which one can be connected directly.  If calling from a mobile phone, one can request a link to a map view via SMS.  This service is comparable with Google’s Goog411, which launched in April (2007) and was recently released under the aegis of Google Labs, as detailed by the official Google Blog.

The new Microsoft services are at present only available in the US-version of Live Maps.  Live Maps local search has now been available in Germany for the past few months (see our report).  The local data is provided by suchen.de.