Microsoft’s Bing Maps has added an additional 270 terabytes of data to its ‘Bird’s Eye’ view – which shows aerial imagery at a 45 degree angle – increasing its existing Bird’s Eye imagery by almost 50% – up from 500 terabytes.

The Bird’s Eye view is Microsoft’s answer to the 3D data offered by its main competitor, Google, as its 45 degree angle offers  a perspective not possible from ‘top down’ captured satellite imagery.

Apple also offers a tilted perspective with its ‘flyover’ view on iOS, and Google’s integration with Google Earth offers the same tilt option, only, rather than using natively captured 45 degree imagery, it places 3D objects onto existing ‘top down’ imagery. Microsoft gets around the 3D object problem by allowing users to rotate its bird’s-eye imagery, providing different perspectives on the same scene.

In addition to its new Bird’s Eye imagery, Microsoft has also added many new venue (indoor) maps bringing the total to around 4,700 venues in more than 59 countries.