• CNNMoney, Tuesday, February 13, 2007 11:01 AM

Virtual mapping is opening new doors for Madison Avenue. It's inevitable that tools like Google Earth and Microsoft's Virtual Earth 3-D will help those searching local neighborhoods to find the products and services they want.

Car companies like Saturn are taking the lead. This spring, the automaker is rolling out an ad campaign for its new Aura sedan that utilizes Google Earth. It's unclear whether users have to click on an ad or listing first, but without downloading a thing, users' screens will zoom all the way from space down to the nearest Saturn dealership, located by their IP address, where a salesperson offers them a test-drive.

Saturn says tests in six cities resulted in millions of click-throughs and more than 1,000 requests for test drives. There's definitely a wow-factor involved here, but when Google Earth users are forced to watch the ad, a wow-factor will quickly turn to nuisance. However, to sell listings in that manner would be really cool, and likely, effective.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has already sold sponsorships on Virtual Earth 3D. Soon, the company says users will be able to zoom through virtual versions of real cities with billboards advertising everything from hotels to restaurants.

Read the whole story at CNNMoney »