Microsoft unveils 3D maps to take on Google
San Francisco: Microsoft has launched an online three-dimensional mapping function that provides detailed views of major US cities to take on rival Google's internet maps.

Microsoft's Virtual Earth 3D map service is built into its Live Search page and provides bird's eye three-dimensional model perspectives of locations.

Microsoft said it used new technology to compile photographs of cities and terrain into "textured, photorealistic three-dimensional models with engineering level accuracy."

Virtual Earth will challenge the Google Earth online mapping, in which users get the illusion of sweeping down to selected spots on the planet from above, while tapping into Google's database of services for the area.
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Muslim countries plan Islamic FTA
New York: Muslim countries are seeking to promote trade and investment among the 57 members of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and plan to speed up the establishment of an Islamic free-trade area and an economic union.

The Islamic world will also aim to increase its share of global gross domestic product to 20 per cent from 6 per cent Salman Shah, finance adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, said at the close of the second World Islamic Economic Forum on Tuesday. The forum in Islamabad attended by 400 participants from 50 countries, called for the Muslim world to help poorer Islamic countries, reform the OIC and reject extremism in favour of moderation.

The grouping, which includes Saudi Arabia and Egypt, accounts for 19 pc of the world's population, 6 pc of its income and 7 pc of global trade, said Pakistan's prime minister Shaukat Aziz at the opening of the forum on November 5.
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Australian Central Bank raises interest rates
Sydney: In a widely expected move the Reserve Bank of Australia has raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 pct, its highest level since January 2001.

The decision followed yesterday's monthly meeting of the RBA board where members assessed a continued expansion in the global economy and further evidence that inflationary pressures had increased.

The RBA's tightening follows a similar 25-basis-point hike in August and in May as the central bank acted to curb inflationary pressures.
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