Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D Resources

MSDN

The Virtual Earth and MapPoint Developer Center on MSDN is updated regularly with articles about developing on the Virtual Earth platform, guidance on using the Map Control and the MapPoint Web Service in different application types, and documentation for all the platform components.

Read the latest MSDN article by Chandu Thota, lead SDET and learn how to add a Virtual Earth map to your site, how the APIs work, how to use the various map styles and how to pinpoint locations and points of interest.

Blogs

A number of the Virtual Team members maintain technically oriented blogs to keep you up to date with the latest tips, ticks and best practices for developing on the VE platform.

•	Virtual Earth Developer Blog
•	MapPoint B2B
•	Chandu Thota’s Weblog

Evaluation Account

In order to use the MapPoint Web Service you will need to sign up for a developer account.

Currently, a developer account is not required when using the Virtual Earth Map Control only in your application.

Developer Documentation

Map Control

•	Virtual Earth Interactive Map Control SDK
•	Virtual Earth Map Control SDK download

MapPoint Web Service

•	MapPoint Web Service SDK online
•	MapPoint Web Service SDK download

The downloadable version of the Virtual Earth Map Control SDK requires Microsoft Windows.

The downloadable version of the MapPoint Web Service SDK requires that you have:

•	Microsoft Visual Studio 2003 or 2005, OR
•	A complete installation of the .NET Framework SDK 1.0, SP2, the .NET Framework SDK 1.1, or the .NET Framework SDK 2.0 installed on a computer to view the MapPoint Developer Web Services SDK.
•	Microsoft Visual Studio 2003 or 2005 and the .NET Framework Version 1.0 SP2, 1.1, or 2.0 installed on a computer to run the installed sample applications.