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Well, well, well what have we here? We now have access to one of the highest resolution global satellite imagery and aerial photography collections (460 million sq. km. + 1 million sq. km. per day moving forward) through a deal we've just struck with DigitalGlobe. We'll finally be able to backfill areas around the world where people have come to my blog and complained about Virtual Earth not having good imagery or photos in their countries - Poland, Hungary, Russia, Taiwan, Mexico, to name a few - I've heard you loud and clear. And, now, we're fixing that problem. Read the press release below:

DigitalGlobe Announces New Content Partnership for Virtual Earth With Microsoft
Longmont, Colo., October 7, 2008 – DigitalGlobe, a leading global content provider of high-resolution world imagery solutions, today announced that it has signed an agreement with Microsoft Corp. for a multi-year contract under which DigitalGlobe will provide Microsoft’s Virtual Earth with its premium, high-resolution satellite and aerial imagery.
Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will have access to DigitalGlobe’s vast ImageLibrary, which contains over 460 million square kilometers of premium earth imagery, as well as new images being collected every day by its growing constellation of satellites.
“DigitalGlobe’s strategic approach to collecting earth imagery allows us to provide our customers with the high-resolution content they need,” said Erik Jorgensen, corporate vice president of Virtual Earth at Microsoft. “With its growing constellation of satellites, large network of aerial partners and a proven track record for delivering a large volume of new earth imagery, DigitalGlobe will be a key content partner for the Virtual Earth Platform.”

DigitalGlobe has been the pioneer in making earth imagery available worldwide for web portals and mobile mapping applications.  Its high-resolution satellite constellation and aerial program collect nearly 1 million square kilometers of earth imagery each day, with much of this imagery available via its online services.

“We are proud to partner with one of the world’s great technology companies,” said Marc Tremblay, senior vice president and general manager of DigitalGlobe’s Commercial Business Unit. “We look forward to working with the Virtual Earth team in the years to come as they continue to expand this powerful geospatial platform.” 

CP