At least thats what it seems several high profile search firms are betting on. New products from Google, Yahoo, Amazon and MSN are on the way - all building on the roll-out of web based imaging and access to local resources. Read all about it in Newsweek's The Technologist column:

The Earth Is Ready For Its Close-Up

By Steven Levy
The Technologist

Newsweek
June 6, 2005

Not long ago we were instructed to think of cyberspace—the digital realm that opens when you go online—as a territory of its own. But these days you don't hear much about cyberspace as a foreign country. Instead, as the Net becomes more and more geographically aware, we're using it to enhance our experiences in the realm of terra firma. The metaphor for this, as well as the potential center for such activity, is the literal mapping of our Earth, delivered piece by piece by piece to our screens—along with the location of the nearest pizzeria.

Google was first among search leaders to integrate high-resolution space photos into its service. After acquiring a satellite-imagery company named Keyhole, it introduced Google Earth, allowing you to toggle between a traditional cartographic view and the actual picture from space. Google sightseers can zoom in close enough to see airplanes parked in the desert, the baseball diamond at Wrigley Field and cars in the Mall of America parking lot.

Not to be outdone, Microsoft last week announced its own satellite mapping function for its MSN Search. Microsoft Virtual Earth adds a new twist: an additional 45-degree-angle view of every location in a major city, as seen by a small, low-flying plane. This side-on view "gives a more recognizable image and lets you see what it's like there," says Microsoft's Steve Lawler.

Other sites take a more grounded approach to the virtual Earth. A9, the search business launched by Amazon.com, sent a fleet of SUVs into more than 10 major cities to snap photos of every storefront (when you search for a business in its Yellow Pages you see the building). And InfoUSA is in the process of taking still shots of every business in every American city.

More on how these technologies will be changing search and how social networking fits into the picture, check out the rest of the article.

-- MDT