WebProNews

Commercial developers can now obtain APIs to the Virtual Earth application free of charge.

Microsoft's Chandu Thota posted an update on API availability for Virtual Earth on Friday. Microsoft will make several other APIs available soon, with the official announcements coming during next week's Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles.

Developers who want to integrate Virtual Earth with their commercial applications can now obtain the code they need to do so for free. There are some important release notes regarding the APIs:

1. Maps are available in U.S. only and does not include any routing capabilities. In the future we will add European and Asian geographies.
2. In order to use the API for commercial applications with no charge, your application must use the local search service on the map (the What/Where search boxes)
3. There is no SLA for Virtual Earth enabled applications until January 1, 2006. Also, if you choose to use Virtual Earth in your production environment before the end of 2005, you must notify the MSN Virtual Earth team first in order to ensure capacity
4. MapPoint Web Service and Virtual Earth platform are not integrated (yet!)
Two additional options for usage will become available on January 1, 2006. Developers can either keep the What/Where search boxes in place in applications using Virtual Earth maps. Or, for those seeking the comfort of a service level agreement, billing for transactions through the API can happen under a current MapPoint Web Service contract.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.