Microsoft has been trying to take down Google Search by not only advertising like mad, but by launching feature after feature. Now Bing is looking to outdo one of Google's best features: Google Maps. And it's making its attempt with its own version of Street View, integration with Microsoft Photosynth and a Silverlight interface.
The core to the new Bing Maps beta is Silverlight, Microsoft's competitor to Adobe Flash. Since the entire Bing Maps experience is done within Silverlight, it ends up being a smooth, visually rich experience.
Perhaps the killer feature of Bing Maps, though, are the Bing Map apps.
Perhaps the app that will get the most attention will be Twitter Maps, which utilises the new Twitter geolocation API to map out tweets onto Bing Maps. You can, for example, search for people discussing breakfast, parades or your favourite museum, and it will map out tweets about those things on the map.
Clearly Bing wants to make Google Maps seem prehistoric with its Silverlight-based interface. It's still unclear how accurate map directions are or if this new interface can drive people to switch to Bing and Bing Maps, but it definitely cannot hurt.