Update: Microsoft announced that the "King of Bing Maps" contest is now closed. They will determine the winner soon.

Original Article: Bing has announced that it’s searching for "someone to worship." By this, they mean lead the way in Bing Map App development. So naturally, they’ve launched a contest.

The contest is called the "King of Bing Maps Challenge," and the winner gets a $1,000 Bing Travel gift card. 2nd prize gets a $500 card and 3rd gets a $250 card.

Winners, selected by a panel of industry experts, will be announced August 20. 

Bing requires applicants submit their map app by July 25th. The official rules can be found here. Bing’s Chris Pendelton cites the following steps:

1. Read about the King of Bing Maps contest at www.KingOfBingMaps.com.
2. Download the Bing Map App SDK (Live ID required). If you don’t know anything about it or if you haven’t read my blog post, read my post about the launch of the Bing Map App SDK – “Announcing the Bing Map App SDK…and 3 New Bing Map Apps”.
3. Start with the template provided in the SDK. The template is our Hello World for Bing Map Apps. Visual Studio 2010 and Silverlight 4 SDK required.
4. Build a sick ass application. I mean disgusting.
5. Submit your application to the Bing Maps Portal.
6. Wait for the judges to determine your fate.

The contest is no doubt designed to generate more interest in the creation of Bing Maps Apps, one feature that sets it apart from other search engine maps.