Pictometry Partnership Goes Live, Local

The hot Henrietta company known as Pictometry International has officially joined the escalating "map" wars being waged by the likes of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

Pictometry's patented technology for capturing high-resolution aerial digital imagery is a significant aspect of Microsoft's new Windows Live Local service.

As envisioned, Live Local will offer a catch-all of Internet communications services, such as e-mail and blogging. Pictometry captures images of every square mile of a particular geographic area, from an oblique angle. The imagery provides greater detail than traditional top-down aerial imaging.

Pictometry, based on technology originally envisioned at the Rochester Institute of Technology, is getting great ink over the service: The Seattle Times has a feature. The popular industry journal Search Engine News weighs in with a piece, as does PC World and PC Week.