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MSN Maps & Directions (www.mappoint.msn.com) has updated its free, online digital mapping service with a new set of innovative features and services. Hallmarks of MSN Maps & Directions have always been its expansive global coverage, easy to use service and customizable maps.

This update continues with the addition of new functionality that enables customers to ‘click to find’ select businesses located along their driving routes, utilize a complete-address pasting field, and link directly to MSN Maps & Directions from personal websites. In addition, detailed street level geographic coverage has expanded to include 11 countries by adding Australia, Belgium and Spain, and the service is now available on MSN Latino.

This new functionality combined with existing favorite features, such as LineDrive maps, Quick Zooming, and customizable maps, enables users to get driving directions more quickly and easily and find addresses and points-of-interest all around the globe.

For more details or screenshots, please visit the MapPoint Virtual Press Room at: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/e...nt/default.asp.


What’s New with MSN Maps & Directions?

> Broader availability. MSN Maps & Directions is now available in 11 countries and is available for the first time in Australia, Belgium and Spain, and on MSN Latino, the Spanish-language version of the U.S. MSN site.

> Brand Finder. MSN Maps & Directions now offers the Brand Finder tool, which enables customers to locate and display featured businesses and services near their mapped location or along their driving route.

> Complete address pasting. MSN Maps & Directions is the only free online mapping service to offer users the option to paste a full address and display that address on a map, instead of having to fill in individual boxes for the address, city, state and ZIP code.

> Direct linking. MSN Maps & Directions now allows customers to link to the MSN Maps & Directions site from their personal Internet site to provide maps and directions. All they have to do is build the URL and paste it into their own programming code.



Other Top Features

> LineDrive maps. Unique to MSN Maps & Directions, LineDrive maps help customers easily see where they are going on a map printout by simplifying the map route and removing unnecessary details.

> Global coverage. Customers can find addresses and get driving directions for Australia, Austria, Belgium (in French and Dutch), Canada (in English and French), France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, the United States (in English and Spanish) and the United Kingdom. They also can use MSN Maps & Directions to locate cities and places anywhere worldwide.

> High-quality, detailed, street-level maps. MSN Maps & Directions uses data from the best sources available to provide the most-detailed and accurate maps in the industry.

> Door-to-door driving directions. MSN Maps & Directions can provide door-to-door driving directions that include summaries of total estimated distance traveled and time on the road.

> Small, medium-sized or large maps. MSN Maps & Directions customers can select the size of map they want and resize maps to fit their screen.

> Quick zooming. Customers can click on the map or use the zoom control to quickly zoom in or out on the map.

> Fast performance. With MSN Maps & Directions, customers can get maps quickly and take advantage of the easy map panning.

> Quick maps. MSN Maps & Directions offers quick maps of well-known places to save time and make finding a location or destination even easier.

> Ability to find an address or a place. MSN Maps & Directions allows users to search for an exact address or a city, place or point of interest. For example, customers don’t have to know the exact address to find a local park. They can type in the name of the park and MSN Maps & Directions will pinpoint the location on the map or provide other places with similar names, so users can quickly find the location they are looking for.

> Easy-to-read printouts. MSN Maps & Directions offers a high-quality print option that eliminates the frustration of hard-to-read map printouts cluttered with advertisements and awkward spaces.

> World Atlas. MSN Maps & Directions offers a view of the whole world. Customers can pinpoint geographic locations or places by selecting World Atlas from the drop-down menu and choosing the area or place they are looking for. They also can zoom in and pan to explore the location or the entire globe.