Birmingham had gotten an update on Google Earth which means at some point in the near future this link on Google Maps won't take you to a building site but will look something like this:



It's still a good couple of years out of date though. The park in front of Curzon St Station is still warehouses for example. But with Birmingham these days keeping up to date images is always going to be tricky.

That said, it's interesting how little noise is made about the Windows Live maps and their shockingly detailed flyover imagery. Compare this with the above, and note the re-glazing of the Rotunda:



Partly this is because Microsoft is evil and Google can do no wrong, but remember Google Maps are extensible, if that's the right word, in that they can be used by other applications with ease. The Windows Live maps require Internet Explorer for some functionality. Nuff said. (Sure look purty though...)

D'log has more musings on the update.