Microsoft's 'eye in the sky' to watch over national security?

Microsoft is collaborating with the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), a division of the Department of Defense, on its Virtual Earth technology.

The NGA wants to use the Virtual Earth technology "to provide geospatial support for humanitarian, peacekeeping and national security efforts," Microsoft said in a statement on Thursday.

In return, the software behemoth hopes to gain from the organisation's established knowledge of geospatial information and geodetics, the maths and science of measuring portions of the Earth's topography, magnetic and gravitational variations, and geodynamic phenomenon.

The NGA "provides timely, relevant and accurate imagery, imagery intelligence and geospatial information in support of national security objectives," according to the government agency's website.

Microsoft also announced an agreement last week to provide its Virtual Earth technology to Real Tech, a provider of real estate tools. Similarly, the software giant in April signed a deal with Zillow to provide the real estate comparison website with Virtual Earth technology. At the time, Zillow explained that the Virtual Earth platform would provide it with both satellite and bird's-eye imagery.

Bird's-eye imagery is aerial photography taken from low-flying planes at a 45-degree angle, instead of from satellites, which give a different amount of detail.

While the NGA refers to itself as "a major combat support agency for the Department of Defense," it is unclear whether this technology will be applied to military strategy operations.

Candace Lombardi writes for CNET News.com