MapForums

Over the weekend we released new features in the Virtual Earth API as well as new data.

New Features in the API:

1. The VEDataType.VECollection supports now the import of 3D-collections
   
2. Import of KML and GPX data is now supported through VEDataType.ImportXML
   
3. Localized Geocoding (‘Nizza’ the German word for 'Nice') is now found in France rather than as Niiza in Japan)
4. Localized Driving Directions
   Just add the market to the URL for the VE MapControl like this http://dev.virtualearth.net/mapcontrol/mapcontrol.ashx?v=6&mkt=XX-YY where XX-YY can be
   1. en-ca,
   2. en-gb,
   3. en-us,
   4. ja-jp,
   5. cs-cz,
   6. da-dk,
   7. nl-nl,
   8. fi-fi,
   9. fr-fr,
   10. de-de,
   11. it-it,
   12. nb-no,
   13. pt-pt,
   14. es-es,
   15. sv-se,
   16. (zh-cn)

1. SSL Support for the VE MapControl
   just use https://dev.virtualearth.net/mapcontrol/mapcontrol.ashx?v=6
   

Data Release

I'm sure you will find the whole list shortly on Steve Lombardi's and Chris Pendleton's blogs but as a teaser:

• There is new high resolution imagery for England, Scotland and Wales, the US, Canada and Japan
• More oblique aerial images in the US and Canada as well as in Europe (Germany: 5 cities, Spain: 19 cities, Sweden: 19 cities, Denmark: 1 city, Norway: 1 city, Belgium: 1 city, Switzerland: 2 cities, Finland 1 city). For a full list of available Bird's Eye imagery outside North America see
  
• A lot of 1m satellite imagery all over the world

In total the data release contained another 33.7 TB of data.