With last week’s release of 3DVIA Shape version 2.0, we provided a free, online 3D modeling application with powerful tools and almost no learning curve. This week you’ll find this familiar tool in the next version of Microsoft Virtual Earth.  Among its many new improvements is the fantastic ability to import models directly from the expansive 3DVIA.com content library. Now you can take advantage of 3D models on 3DVIA to populate your urban or business development projects, or your own neihborhood!Microsoft Virtual Earth is the 3D mapping application used by millions of consumers to view, find, edit and create 3D destinations for personal, domestic, international or buisiness projects. Virtual Earth-3DVIA is a unique, free modeling tool for beginners and profesionals with almost no learning curve.

How to Get Started!

-Log onto Microsoft Virtual Earth: You can use Microsoft Virtual Earth without logging in, but if you want to save your model collection or use some of the great free features of Microsoft Virtual Earth, you will have to use your MSN or Live account, or create a new account.

-Find Your Location: At the top of the page you can type in your destination. Press enter or click on the search icon and Microsoft Virtual Earth will immediatly locate and zoom into the exact location you choose!

-Right Click to Add a 3D Model:  Right click any part of the map to open the context menu. Select “Add a 3D Model”. This will launch Virtual Earth-3DVIA or start the installation process. After a quick download you will be ready to create and publish immediatly to your Microsoft Virtual Earth collection!

-Import Models from the 3DVIA.com Library: Find models by entering a word in the bottom, left search window of Virtual Earth-3DVIA.  You’ll get an instant inventory of items to choose, select the model you want and click on “insert” to add to your composition.In minutes you can easily create and arrange full scenes of 3D models at the exact geographic location you choose! Visit these pages for more information:

Introducing Shape Version 2.0
Can your model be used in Virtual Earth-3DVIA?

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A new release of the Live Maps service is now public and the centerpiece is a much improved “Version 2″ view of several top cities including Las Vegas.  The version 2 update features cities with many more modeled buildings, higher resolution textures, and rendered trees!  Other cities with a version 2 spruce up include Dallas, Denver and Phoenix.

It’s amazing - click on the image to zoom into the improved 3D Las Vegas.

Also featured in the update…an improved Virtual Earth - 3DVIA.  Some of the new enhancements include lighting for contributed models, creation of preview thumbnails when you save a model, and much faster publishing when using high resolution textures.  To try it out while in Live Maps, switch into 3D view, right click where you would like to add a building and choose ‘Add 3D model’.

Other key updates for Live Maps include:

• Export Your Collection to Your Navigation/GPS Device
• The Ability to Add Labels for Birds Eye Imagery
• 1-Click Directions (They call it Party Maps!)
• MapCruncher Integration!…MapCruncher is a tool for registering your raster maps to create map tiles for mashups. You can now add your MapCrunched layers to Collections
• “GeoWeb Exploration”…”one of the largest stores of local content on the web”
• Neighborhood Subscribe via GeoRSS….very cool feature allowing to subscribe to local updates of a given geographic area!
• Tour Enhancements Including Hi-Def Movies
• Directions and Traffic Enhancements
• Improved Display of KML Files Including Google MyMaps Links

There is already some buzz for the update from around the blogosphere including:

• Live Maps hits us with a big release
• New Live Search Maps is Live
• Microsoft Introduces Tool for Avoiding Traffic Jams
• New Live Search Maps is Live
• The New Maps Is Live
• The New Release of Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3D is now Live!

Congratulations to the Live Maps team!

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Under the category of cool things that you can accomplish with our very own Virtual Earth - 3DVIA 3D modeling application and Microsoft Virtual Earth, the above fly through was built for a presentation of the proposed Eos Generali building in the heart of the Paris business district.  We worked closely with several groups to produce the video including our old friends from Earthware (a.k.a. siege103 on 3DVIA.com) who produced many of the buildings that you see in the presentation.

Although you may not have the 3D modeling talent of Chris (Earthware) or Marc (3DVIA), you can produce the same concept on Virtual Earth today.  Everything you see above was produced through applications that are freely available right now.  The buildings were modeled with the Virtual Earth - 3DVIA version of our free Shape 3D modeling application and the "fly through" capability comes standard with Virtual Earth.  Marc has already promised a tutorial on how to produce your own that will be posted here soon.

The video was posted earlier on several sites including the Virtual Earth / Live Maps and Earthware blogs.  I like Michael’s second comment on the VE / Live Map blog…"It almost looks just like 2nd Life! I couldn’t help but notice that. It would be interesting to have a sort of 2nd Life in Virtual Earth. Where it takes place in more realistic setting and realistic people, don’t you? That would be neat." 

Interesting, don’t you think?

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Just last month, Microsoft blogger Steve Lombardi posted a great article on 3D mashups created utilizing the modeling capability of Virtual Earth - 3DVIA combined with Virtual Earth technology.  He detailed how developers can embed Virtual Earth 3D maps into their web applications and use our Virtual Earth - 3DVIA product to import custom building models.  You can see the final result here.

Although I did not get a chance to post an article on his creation then, this week delivered yet another great example of a 3D mashup posted on the IDV Solutions blog titled “3D, or Not 3D: That Is the Question“.  The article is a great step-by-step tutorial on how to build 3D models for Virtual Earth.  However, in addition to the snappy title that I know he must have been dying to use, the article contains a link to the incredible mashup they have created on their own Virtual Earth a based application.  It is a great example of what you can be accomplished with Virtual Earth - 3DVIA and worth checking out.

Fans of 3DVIA.com might remember the IDV Solutions 3D building  model as one of our featured models in January.  Here is the model on 3DVIA.com. (click the PLAY 3D button to view it).

And here is the here is the same building within the IDV 3D Mashup built on what they call their “experiment”.  What do you think?

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siege103 from Earthware recently posted some interesting 3D models to 3DVIA that were built using Google SketchUp. The best 2 models he uploaded were the Housing Terrace and Shopping Center models.

My assignment for Chris this week…try creating some of your models using 3DVIA Shape?

 Siege103’s 3D Shopping Center

You may remember his great (and honest) review from the Earthware Blog covering the Microsoft Virtual Earth - 3DVIA release and the video he produced on “Creating your first building in Virtual Earth 6“.

To upload your 3D models to our free 3D model hosting service, create a 3DVIA account and enjoy.

Cheers!

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If you would like to remix these 3D house models, click here to access the collection - requires an MSN account (Hotmail, etc.).   Hover over the model name, and select “Add to collection”.  In the Collections editor, you can move the model to a new location, and remix it inside of Virtual Earth – 3DVIA.

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This easy to use 3D model building application is the result of a close partnership between the Microsoft and Dassault Systèmes engineering teams. Our goal was to provide ordinary people with tools they can use to build a 3D world that combines their unique ideas and vision of the future with real-life places, buildings and structures.

With just a few clicks, you can easily design your house or your favorite building in 3D and post them for your friends and family to view on Virtual Earth.

To get started with Virtual Earth – 3DVIA:

1. Watch the Virtual Earth – 3DVIA tutorial introduction video found on our Tutorials Page

2. Setup your Microsoft Live User Account. Installing Microsoft Virtual Earth – 3DVIA requires you have a Live user account, available at http://maps.live.com/

3. Install the Virtual Earth – 3DVIA application: After you have Virtual Earth running, you can then install 3DVIA modeling software from:

http://maps.live.com/Help/en-us/VE3DVIADownload.htm
(or simply follow the menu links in Virtual Earth to “Add a 3D model”)

We are looking forward to seeing what you build, and hearing what you think about Virtual Earth - 3DVia.

Enjoy!

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