With its detailed version, users can search for directions based on their preference level (according to their interest and choice of landmarks) and access street maps for top 17 cities and highway road network covering 48,000 cities and towns.

"Our focus is on constantly providing innovative and unique services that meet evolving needs of users on the PC and Mobile, and the release of this version of Live Search Maps India within three months of the first launch in November 2008 is testament to this, said Ravi Datanwala, Group Manager " Live Search, Consumer and Online, Microsoft India. The new features have been incorporated basis a deep understanding of what Indians are looking for when searching for directions and maps, and we are sure our users will see value in them, he added.

The current updated version has been developed by the Live Search and Incubations for Emerging Markets team at Microsoft India Development Centre (MSIDC) based in Hyderabad. Users can log on to http://maps.live.co.in/ and http://m.live.co.in and can avail the version for their personal computers or mobile phones.

Microsoft has also opened the APIs for Indian enterprise and developer communities to enable increased communication and enhance the development of custom mapping applications using Microsofts Virtual Earth as well. Microsoft India and the Hyderabad Police Department even launched a venture called Know Your Police Station that allows the users of Live Search Maps find out the services like the nearest police station around them and so on!

Continually providing citizens with services that are relevant and easy to use is a huge focus for Hyderabad Police and our partnership with Microsoft to create this unique Live Maps based application, is an important step in this direction. With the launch of the application, Know Your Police Station, citizens can now access information on Police Stations across Hyderabad in an intuitive and interactive manner. We look forward to a long term engagement with Microsoft to ensure that we are constantly providing citizen services that are essential and easy to use." - B Prasada Rao, Commissioner, Hyderabad Police.

"The innovative features of the new release have been developed by my team at the Microsoft India Development Center in Hyderabad. In addition to landmark based directions, Multi-point Routing, and increased coverage to 17 cities, we have enabled access to the Virtual Earth platform via APIs to the developer community, thereby encouraging developers and enterprises to build innovative solutions that leverage the power of the platform and our rich Indian data. One example of this is the citizen service we have developed in partnership with the Hyderabad police," said Gurpreet S. Pall, General Manager " Live Search and MSN Technologies, Microsoft India Development Centre (MSIDC).

Features:

• Maps for 8 new Indian cities (Nasik, Indore, Sholapur, Surat, Nagpur, Pimpri/Chinchwad, Chandigarh/Mohali/Panchkula, Panaji/Marmagao)
• Improved Driving Directions
• Driving Directions based on Landmarks
• Multipoint Routing and Round trip
• Collections Search
• New APIs for Developers
• Interactive Software Development Kit (SDK)
• Virtual Earth Map Control
• Virtual Earth Web Services (VEWS)

"We are happy to continue to work with Microsoft in its constant improvement of Live Search Maps for India. Together we continue to bring a fresh and increasingly relevant Live Search Maps to consumers in India supported by the highest quality data, delivering additional value to users. The data in this new generation Live Search Maps allows users to accurately locate places in India through landmarks, places of general interest and via multiple routes that are relevant to them. And NAVTEQs database for India has received all of the required approvals from Governmental authorities in India. We look forward to continuing to play a role in delivering a quality experience to Live Search Map users in India," said Rich Shuman, Senior Vice President - Asia Pacific Sales, NAVTEQ.

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