Virtual Earth Goes High Def

Microsoft announced today that it is partnering with aerial and satellite image provider GlobeXplorer to enhance Virtual Earth with 400,000 square miles of U.S. high-resolution aerial imagery coverage.

Virtual Earth is built on Microsoft’s MapPoint Web service and is the mapping engine behind Microsoft’s Windows Live Local and Live Maps.

This deal will combine GlobeXplorer’s aerial and satellite image library with Microsoft’s existing Virtual Earth mapping content “over the next several months,” according to the release.