Microsoft is releasing the beta of Windows Live Local on Thursday at noon EST. Located at https://local.live.com, the service offers a supposedly higher quality service than Google Maps by integrating photos taken from low-flying airplanes of major US metro areas. In theory, you should be able to pinpoint locations much more accurately with Live Local than with Google Maps. You can then get detailed driving instructions without having the exact address.

This is an exciting time for search. I’m looking forward to Microsoft and Google facing off for supremacy in this area. We users are bound to be the big winners.