Bing Maps was originally launched as MSN Virtual Earth, which was released for beta testing on July 24, 2005.[2] It was a continuation of previous Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft MapPoint and TerraServer. Its original stand out feature was the aerial imagery.[3] The original version lacked many of its distinguishing features, including birds' eye view and 3D maps, and the Collections functionality was limited to a single "Scratchpad" of points of interest.
In December 2005, Virtual Earth was replaced by Windows Live Local, featuring improvements, technologies from Pictometry International, and integrated with the Local Search index on Windows Live Search.[4] On November 6, 2006, Microsoft added the ability to view the maps in 3D using a .NET managed control and managed interfaces to Direct3D. Microsoft subsequently referred to this product officially as "Live Search Maps", integrating it as part of its Live Search services.
On June 3, 2009, Microsoft officially rebranded Live Search Maps as Bing Maps, and the Virtual Earth platform as Bing Maps for Enterprise.
In 2010, Microsoft added an OpenStreetMap layer to Bing Maps.[5] From 2012, Nokia (formerly Navteq) powered many aspects of Bing Maps as an extension to its Windows Phone 7 partnership with Microsoft, including mapping data, geocoding, traffic data and navigation.[6][7][8]
On June 1, 2020 it was announced the base map data of the Bing Maps Platform would now be sourced from TomTom.[1]
Updates
v1 (Beagle) (July 2005)
v2 (Calypso) (December 2005) - "Bird's-eye imagery" released
v2.5 (February 2006)
v3 (Discovery) (May 2006) - Real time traffic, collections, new API
v4 (Endeavour) (September 2006) - People search, drawing on maps, new imagery
v5 (Spaceland) (November 2006) - 3D viewer, building models in 15 cities
Data update (December 2006) - New 3D models and high-resolution imagery for 6 new areas
Data update (January 2007) - Over 100 European cities with bird's-eye coverage added
Data update (29 March 2007) - 3.8TB of bird's-eye imagery, orthophotos and 3D models of 5 British cities
v5.5 (Falcon) (3 April 2007) VE 3D plugin for Firefox, GeoRSS support, area calculations
v6 (Gemini) (15 October 2007) - New data, party maps, traffic based routing, v6 MapControl, Bird's Eye in 3D, etc.
v6.1 (GoliatH) (10 April 2008) - Improved quality of 3D models, improved KML support and new export capabilities, street labels on Bird's Eye imagery, MapCruncher integration, HD filming capabilities, Clearflow traffic report system
v6.2 (Helios) (24 September 2008) - Multi-point driving directions, landmarks in directions, weather, real stars, new data
Data Update (29 December 2008) - 48TB of road network data
v6.2 (Ikonos) (14 April 2009) - Performance improvements
Bing maps frequently updates and expands the geographic areas covered by its imagery, with new updates being released on roughly a monthly basis. Each imagery release typically contains more than 10TB of imagery.
The time between image updates means that aerial and Bird's-Eye images of a particular location can sometimes be several years out-of-date. This is particularly noticeable in locations that have undergone recent rapid development or experienced other dramatic changes such as natural disasters since the imagery was taken.
Features
Street maps
Users can browse and search topographically-shaded street maps for many cities worldwide. Maps include certain points of interest built in, such as metro stations, stadiums, hospitals, and other facilities. It is also possible to browse public user-created points of interest. Searches can cover public collections, businesses or types of businesses, locations, or people. Five street map views are available: Road View, Aerial View, Bird's Eye View, Street Side View, and 3D View.
Road view
Road view is the default map view and displays vector imagery of roads, buildings, and geography. The data from which the default road map is rendered is licensed from Navteq. In certain parts of the world, road view maps from alternative data providers are also available. For example, when viewing a map of London, the user may see road data from the Collins Bartholomew London Street Map. In all parts of the UK, road data from the Ordnance Survey can also be displayed. A Bing Maps app is available that will display road data from OpenStreetMap.[9]
Aerial view
Aerial view overlays satellite imagery onto the map and highlights roads and major landmarks for easy identification amongst the satellite images. Since the end of November 2010, OpenStreetMap mappers have been able to use imagery of Bing Aerial as a map background.[10]
At the end of January 2012, both Bing Aerial and Birds Eye View imagery at military bases in Germany became blurred. This was on request of the German government obviously using data from OpenStreetMap.[11]
Bird's-eye view
Bird's-eye view displays aerial imagery captured from low-flying aircraft. Unlike the top-down aerial view captured by satellite, Bird's-eye images are taken at an oblique 45-degree angle, showing the sides and roofs of buildings giving better depth perception for geography. With Bird's Eye views, many details such as signs, advertisements and pedestrians are clearly visible. Microsoft has occasionally removed Bird's Eye View from areas where it was previously available.[citation needed]
Streetside
Bing Maps showing Streetside's view near the Palace of WestminsterBing Maps Streetside car with cameras on the roof
Streetside provides 360-degree imagery of street-level scenes taken from special cameras mounted on moving vehicles. Launched in December 2009[12] it contains imagery for selected metro areas in the United States as well as selected areas in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia associated with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games (example: Richmond Olympic Oval). Selected cities in Europe were also made available in May 2012.[13]
Between August and September 2011, German customers were allowed to appeal against integration of their house or flat in Bing Streetside.[14] According to some officials, the number of appeals was significantly lower than with Google Street View.[15] Only 40,000 requests were sent to Microsoft. In May 2012, Streetside imagery captured in Germany was removed entirely due to numerous requests.[16]
For OpenStreetMap editors, display of Streetside tracks and images can be enabled via a map data layer checkbox.[17]
Venue maps
Venue maps provide a way of seeing the layout of the venue. Currently, Bing Maps provides maps & level wise layouts of over 5300 venues across the world.[18] The categories are: Airports, Amusement Parks, Buildings, Convention Centers, Hospitals, Malls, Museums, Parks, Racecourses, Racetracks, Resorts, Shopping Centers, Shopping Districts, Stadiums, Universities and Zoos.
3D maps
The 3D maps feature allows users to see the environment (e.g. buildings) in 3D, with the added ability to rotate and tilt the angle in addition to panning and zooming. To attempt to achieve near-photorealism, all 3D buildings are textured using composites of aerial photography. To view the 3D maps, users must install a plugin, then enable the "3D" option on "Bing Maps". In addition to exploring the maps using a mouse and keyboard, it is possible to navigate the 3D environment using an Xbox 360 controller or another game controller in Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP.
More than 60 cities worldwide could be viewed in 3D, including most of the major cities in the United States and a few cities in Canada, the United Kingdom, and France.[19] Some additional cities have had a select few important landmarks modelled in 3D, such as the Colosseum in Rome. Terrain data is available for the entire world. It is also possible to use a 3D modelling program called 3DVIA Shape for Maps to add one's own models to the 3D map. Since 2014, new 3D imagery has been introduced to a number of new cities.[20][21]
Driving, walking, and transit directions
Users can get directions between two or more locations. In September 2010, Bing Maps added public transit directions (bus, subway, and local rail) to its available direction options.[22] Although at the beginning it was only available in some cities: Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Newark Metro Area, New York Metro Area, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver BC, and Washington DC, now you can find information from all over the world.
Currently, a wide coverage of transit information is being reached in other countries such as Spain, Germany, Italy, Austria, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and many others.
Bing Map Apps is a collection of 1st and 3rd party applications that add additional functionality and content to Bing Maps. Examples of map apps include a parking finder, a taxi fare calculator, an app that maps out Facebook friends, and an app which lets users explore the day's newspaper front pages from around the world. These apps are only accessible through Bing Maps Silverlight. A source code is available on Microsoft Developer Network to explain integration of Maps in Web Applications. A sample ongoing project on locating Blood Donors on Maps is available here.[23]
Traffic information and ClearFlow
Bing Maps shows users current traffic information for major highways and roads. The feature uses 4 color codes (black, red, yellow, green) to indicate traffic volume, from heaviest traffic to lightest traffic.
Microsoft announced in March 2008 that it will release its latest software technology called "ClearFlow".[needs update] It is a Web-based service for traffic-based driving directions available on Bing.com in 72 cities across the U.S.[24] The tool took five years for Microsoft's Artificial Intelligence team to develop. ClearFlow provides real-time traffic data to help drivers avoid traffic congestion. ClearFlow gives information for alternative routes and supplies traffic conditions on city streets adjacent to highways.[25] Clearflow anticipates traffic patterns, while taking into account sporting/arena events, time of day and weather conditions, and then reflects the back ups and their consequential spill over onto city streets. Often, ClearFlow found it may be faster to stay on the highway instead of seeking alternative side street routes, which involve traffic lights and congestion as well.[26]
Sharing and embedding maps
Bing Maps allows users to share maps and embed maps into their websites. By clicking the e-mail icon in the bottom-left corner of Bing Maps, a window will open that displays a shareable URL so others can access the map currently being viewed. This window also provides HTML code to embed a small version of the map onto any web page.
Design
In August 2010, Bing Maps launched an overhauled design for its default view. The new colors create a more visually appealing backdrop for information delivery that helps content ‘pop’ on the map. The backdrop provides clear differentiation for pushpins, labels and red, yellow and green traffic overlays. These design principles also works well in black and white and creates differentiation for those with the most common forms of color blindness.
Also, larger fonts correspond to larger roads to help customers more easily identify main roads in cities. More readable labels eliminate the need for bolding and less-attractive glows. The inclusion of neighborhood labels allows users to quickly find or convey locations in a commonly used and highly relevant format.
Other features
People, business, and location search
The search box at the top of Bing Maps can be used to locate places, businesses and landmarks, and people. Search results appear both on a left-side rail and as pushpins on the map (linked together by numbers). Search results often include addresses, contact information, and reviews for businesses and landmarks. For relevant searches, the user will also see a description of the landmark or place (powered by Wikipedia) if a Wikipedia article exists.
The search process can also be guided using local directories for numerous categories (restaurants, hotels, tourist attractions, retail stores, etc.).
User contributions
Bing Maps users can also view and add "user contributed" entries to the map. These user-contributions must be toggled on by users. Such items can include businesses, landmarks, buildings, and locations. Users can browse user-contributions by tags and subscribe to RSS feeds to receive updates of new user-contributions to a specific area.
Dynamic labels
In August 2010, Bing Maps added dynamic labels to its Silverlight experience (bing.com/maps/explore). Turn on the dynamic labels beta from the map style selector on bing.com/maps/explore and the labels become clickable. This allows users to quickly zoom down to a region or location anywhere on the map with just a few clicks. Zooming back out in a single click is also possible by using the ‘breadcrumb’ trail at the top left of the map.
AJAX and Silverlight versions
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(July 2022)
Bing Maps has two separate versions for users: an AJAX version (located at Bing.com/Maps) and an opt-in Silverlight version (located at Bing.com/Maps/Explore—not available anymore) that requires Microsoft Silverlight to be installed. The Silverlight version is positioned to offer richer, more dynamic features and a smoother experience. In November 2010, the AJAX and Silverlight versions were combined into a semi-hybrid site where Silverlight features such as Map Apps and Streetside could be enabled through the Bing.com/Maps site - these features still required Silverlight to be installed, but does not require use of a separate Bing Maps site.
The AJAX and Silverlight site share the following features: Road View, Aerial View, Bird's-Eye View, Sharing Maps, People/Business/Location Search, Building Footprints, Driving Directions, Walking Directions.
Silverlight users exclusively can use Map Apps, StreetSide View, Photosynths, and Dynamic Labels.
Map apps
Access
Bing Map Apps are accessed either through the "Map Apps" button in the Bing Maps Explore Bar or through direct perma-links. The Map Apps button is only viewable if the user is in the Bing Maps Silverlight experience or in Windows 8.
Third-party apps
Bing Map Apps also allows third parties to create and submit map apps. The following are a list of 3rd party map apps:
Destination Maps: Create a custom map to a party or place
Everyscape Eats!: Explore 360 degree views of restaurants
Gas Prices: See gas prices for nearby gas stations
GeoSalesTax: View a heat map of sales tax rates in the US
Global Action Atlas: View ongoing global efforts to help people in need and help the environment
DonorsChoose.org: See micro-donation opportunities to help classrooms in need
Oodle Rentals: Find places to rent housing
ParkingFinder: Find parking and get parking rates in major cities
Random Location: Jump to a random location on the map
Ricky's Data Viewer: Import shape files and GSS files to view on Bing Maps
Roadside Sculptures: See sculptures found on US highways
Roadside Attractions: Learn about attractions found along US highways
Seattle Issues: Shows SeeClickFix civil issues in the Seattle area
Signs & Billboards: Unique and noteworthy signs and billboards
Taxi Fare Calculator: Estimate taxi care costs
Today's Front Pages: View the front pages of newspapers from around the globe
TrafficLand: See traffic cameras across the US
Travel Webcams: View webcam feeds at global attractions
Urban Graffiti: Images of graffiti from cities
Urban Murals Wall paintings from urban corridors
Wcities Events: Find local events
WCities Places Nearby: Find nearby hotels, attractions, venues, and restaurants
Weather: See weather conditions and forecasts
Wiki Explorer: Explore the 50 most recent entries to Wiki Places
World of Football: See scores of top European soccer teams
In July 2010, Microsoft and DigitalGlobe, a provider of high-resolution earth imagery, announced the collection of the first imagery from the company's Advanced Ortho Aerial Program. Through a special agreement with Microsoft, the Advanced Ortho Aerial Program will provide wall-to-wall 30 cm aerial coverage of the contiguous United States and Western Europe that DigitalGlobe has the exclusive rights to distribute beyond Bing Maps. The program's first orthophoto mosaics are of Augusta, GA, San Diego, CA and Tampa, FL, and can be viewed on DigitalGlobe's website.
Americas
Country
Navteq Coverage
Bird's Eye
Map POIs
United States
Full
Yes
Yes
Bahamas
Full
No
Yes
Canada
Full
Yes
Yes
Cayman Islands
Full
No
Yes
Mexico
Full
No
Yes
Puerto Rico
Full
No
Yes
Virgin Islands
Full
No
Yes
Argentina
Full
No
Yes
Brazil
Full
No
Yes
Chile
Full
No
Yes
Colombia
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
French Guiana
Full
No
No
Guadeloupe
Full
No
No
Martinique
Full
No
No
Saint Barthelemy
Full
No
No
Venezuela
Full
No
Yes
Anguilla
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Antigua and Barbuda
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Aruba
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Barbados
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Belize
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Bermuda
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Bolivia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Costa Rica
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Cuba
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Dominica
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Dominican Republic
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Ecuador
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
El Salvador
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Greenland
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Grenada
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Guatemala
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Guyana
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Haiti
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Honduras
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Jamaica
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Montserrat
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Netherlands Antilles
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Nicaragua
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Panama
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Paraguay
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Peru
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Saint Lucia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
St. Pierre and Miquelon
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Suriname
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Trinidad and Tobago
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Turks and Caicos Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Uruguay
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Africa
Country
Navteq Coverage
Bird's Eye
Map POIs
Algeria
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Angola
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Botswana
Full
No
Yes
Benin
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Burkina Faso
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Burundi
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Cameroon
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Cape Verde
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Central African Republic
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Chad
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Comoros
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Congo
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Côte d'Ivoire
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Djibouti
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Equatorial Guinea
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Eritrea
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Eswatini
Full
No
Yes
Ethiopia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Gabon
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Gambia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Ghana
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Morocco
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Guinea-Bissau
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Kenya
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Liberia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Lesotho
Full
No
Yes
Namibia
Full
No
Yes
Madagascar
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Malawi
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Mali
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Mauritania
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Mauritius
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Mayotte
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Mozambique
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Niger
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Nigeria
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Rwanda
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
São Tomé and Príncipe
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Senegal
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Seychelles
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Sierra Leone
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Somalia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
South Africa
Full
No
Yes
St. Helena
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Sudan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Tanzania, United Republic of
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Togo
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Tunisia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Uganda
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Western Sahara
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Zambia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Zimbabwe
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Europe
Country
Navteq Coverage
Bird's Eye
Map POIs
Andorra
Full
No
Yes
Austria
Full
Yes
Yes
Belgium
Full
Yes
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Croatia
Full
No
Yes
Czech Republic
Full
No
Yes
Denmark
Full
Yes
Yes
Estonia
Full
Yes
Yes
Finland
Full
Yes
Yes
France
Full
Yes
Yes
Germany
Full
Yes
Yes
Gibraltar
Full
Yes
Yes
Greece
Full
Yes
Yes
Guernsey
Full
No
Yes
Hungary
Full
No
Yes
Ireland
Full
Yes
Yes
Isle of Man
Full
No
Yes
Italy
Full
Yes
Yes
Jersey
Full
No
Yes
Latvia
Full
Yes
Yes
Liechtenstein
Full
No
Yes
Lithuania
Full
Yes
Yes
Luxembourg
Full
Yes
Yes
Monaco
Full
Yes
Yes
Netherlands
Full
Yes
Yes
Norway
Full
Yes
Yes
Poland
Full
Yes
Yes
Portugal
Full
Yes
Yes
Russian Federation
Full
No
Yes
San Marino
Full
Yes
Yes
Slovakia
Full
No
Yes
Slovenia
Full
No
Yes
Spain
Full
Yes
Yes
Sweden
Full
Yes
Yes
Switzerland
Full
Yes
Yes
Turkey
Full
No
Yes
United Kingdom
Full
Yes
Yes
Vatican City State
Full
Yes
Yes
Albania
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Belarus
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Bosnia and Herzegowina
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Bulgaria
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Iceland
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
North Macedonia
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Moldova, Republic of
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Montenegro
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Romania
Full
Yes
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Serbia
Full
Yes
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Azerbaijan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Faroe Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Georgia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Armenia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Cyprus
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Malta
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Ukraine
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Asia / Oceania
Country
Navteq Coverage
Bird's Eye
Map POIs
Brunei
Full
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Japan
Full
Yes
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Afghanistan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
American Samoa
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Bangladesh
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Bhutan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Cambodia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
China
Limited
No
No
Cook Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Fiji
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
French Polynesia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Guam
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Kiribati
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Kyrgyzstan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Lao People's Democratic Republic
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Maldives
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Marshall Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Micronesia, Federated States of
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Mongolia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Myanmar
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Nauru
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Nepal
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
New Caledonia
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Niue
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Norfolk Island
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
North Korea
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Northern Mariana Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Pakistan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Palau
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Papua New Guinea
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Philippines
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Solomon Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
South Korea
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Sri Lanka
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Tajikistan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Timor-Leste
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Tonga
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Turkmenistan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Tuvalu
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Uzbekistan
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Vanuatu
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Vietnam
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Wallis and Futuna Islands
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Australia
Full
Yes
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Hong Kong
Limited
No
Yes
India
Full
Yes
Yes
Indonesia
Limited
No
Yes
Macau
Limited
No
Yes
Malaysia
Limited
No
Yes
New Zealand
Limited
Yes
Yes
Singapore
Limited
No
Yes
Taiwan
Limited
No
Yes
Thailand
Limited
No
Yes
Middle East
Country
Navteq Coverage
Bird's Eye
Map POIs
Bahrain
Full
No
Yes
Kuwait
Full
No
Yes
Oman
Full
No
Yes
Qatar
Full
No
Yes
Saudi Arabia
Full
No
Yes
United Arab Emirates
Full
No
Yes
Iran
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Iraq
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Israel
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Lebanon
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Syria
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Yemen
Limited
No
Named Places & Transportation Hubs
Jordan
Full
No
No
Reunion
Full
No
No
Egypt
Limited
No
No
Compatibility
Microsoft states that Bing Maps needs the following environment:[27]
Windows XP with SP2 or a later version
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Windows Imaging Component
250 MB or more of hard disk space
A 1.0-gigahertz (GHz) processor (2.8 GHz or faster is recommended)
256 MB of system memory (1 GB is recommended)
A 32-MB video card (256 MB is recommended) that supports Microsoft DirectX 9, with 3D hardware acceleration enabled
A high-speed or broadband Internet connection
Compatible browsers include Windows Internet Explorer 6 or later, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or later, or Safari 3.1 or later.[28]Opera is stated to be usable "with some functionality limitations".[29] Users of browsers that are not considered compatible, as well as users of versions of compatible browsers that are not supported, will be directed away from viewing the map without an error message.
^Comparing blurred regions of Bing imagery with polygons of military landuses from OpenStreetMap-data plus some details at the OSM WikiArchived 2012-02-04 at the Wayback Machine.
