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Web 2.0 - Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Everyscape Launches Sweet 3D Maps W/ $10M From Draper

The online map industry's big event is going down with some big new releases from Google and Microsoft. But there are plenty of startups on hand inlcluding EveryScape, out of Waltham, Massachusetts, which has been operating in stealth mode.

Everyscape is a relaunch of a 5-year old company, known as Mok 3, that began life to develop 3D world technology for gaming companies. It has received less than $10M from Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Draper Fisher New England, and Draper Atlantic, and it says it expects to complete a Round B in the next six months.

The startup mashes up 360 degree panoramic photos with Google Maps to create street-level 3D tours of entire neighborhoods.

Their demo shows off the technology in action in the Union Square neighborhood of San Francisco and its is stunning -and unlike Google Earth - it is flash based so it doesn't require a plug-in. Also, users can tag locations, linking them to business websites, Yelp restaurant reviews, Flickr photos or YouTube videos of the area.

The company faces a major undertaking in that it requires people to walk the earth with panoramic cameras and then to upload those photos. That could take years or decades to map the Earth, or even its major cities.

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Read - The 3D Maps Are Coming: EveryScape and Virtual Earth (Read/write Web)