While Google Earth remains the undisputed navigational heavyweight master of global mapping, Microsoft have weighed in with a reasonable effort.

This beta version of Virtual Earth combines local search with maps and aerial photography. Microsoft have included satellite imagery with maps in its local search results for quite some time but with Virtual Earth, the display is focused primarily around maps and aerial views. You can zoom in and out of maps or images, and drag the images around within the display at leisure and the basic search interface is similar to MSN's local search with "what" and "where" forms to specify what you're searching for. In addition, text results for searches are displayed in floating popup windows on the left side of the display. Aerial photographs are overlaid with labels, showing street names, landmarks, and other features, even including directional arrows for one-way streets plus permalinks saves a screenshot of everything open in Virtual Earth, including the map view location and search results.

It may not be in the same class as Google Earth but this is one of Microsoft's better efforts it has to be said.

Download Microsoft Virtual Earth Beta in Softonic

Have you ever wondered what life is like on the other side of the world, just on a normal day like today? Stop wondering: now you can see it.

Satellite Live is an impressive mapping application with which you can view satellite imagery from any location on the planet, traveling from one place to another with just a mouse click and zooming in and out at your will. In a way it works very much like the popular Google Earth but with a slight difference: Satellite Live offers live, real-time images.

The program uses former military technology that has now been released to civilians. Software developers have quickly taken advantage of it, producing a striking piece of software like you'll never have seen before.

You're able to watch people actually walking down the street, parking their cars, buying groceries from the market stall or going for a walk in the park. Obviously the program only shows images from public and open areas so forget about peeking into somebody's bathroom to witness private stuff. Nevertheless, Satellite Live features an extraordinary zoom level with which you won't miss a single thing.

The program includes also a locating feature (which finds any place on Earth in a matter of seconds), an embedded screen capturing tool and navigational buttons to move around maps. However, there's no support for extra information layers yet.

Bear in mind that the level of detail may vary from one place to another, which means that populated areas such as New York, Los Angeles, London or Tokyo have more image quality than the Nevada desert or the Amazon jungle. In any case, Satellite Live is still an incredible application that opens a window to the world from your own computer.

Satellite Live lets you witness what's going on in any location on the planet, in real time. Though the level of detail may vary, it's still an impressive app with which to learn how life is in other parts of the world.

Download April Fools Satellite Live 1.0 in Softonic

This is definitely good news for all Google Map addicts out there: Mini Map Sidebar is a Firefox extension that enables you to have Google Maps always at sight. It also includes a set of convenient tools to blend Google mapping and web browsing into a unique experience.

Mini Map Sidebar works in a very simple way: whenever you come across any address or Google map link on a webpage, you can select it and drop it onto the sidebar and Google Maps will immediately show its location. The only problem I see here is the fact that sometimes the sidebar is simply too small to be able to see the map properly.

The extension also features a handy tool to obtain directions from one address to another. For instance, you can set a given address as your home location in the extension, and get directions easily to any other address you find online.

Download Minimap Sidebar Extension 0.1.4.9 in Softonic