There's some competition for the snoopiest view of your back yard.

Last night, departing Microsoft NZ exec Brett Roberts pointed out that his company’s search engine, Bing*, has just released maps of Auckland and other cities.

Check it out here at bingmapsupdates.cloudapp.net (you will need to install Silverlight - Microsoft’s equivalent of Adobe Flash - if you haven't already; it only takes seconds).

While Google Earth recently upgraded its New Zealand views, Bing still offers a noticeably sharper, smoother picture, revealing more bird’s eye details.

And the browser-based Bing map is appreciably faster than Google's Earth app, too.

Check out this view of the same Auckland street in Bing (above) and Google Earth (below):

Seven other areas of New Zealand - all random and rural - are also now on Bing.

I was roaming randomly out in the 'burbs. There are some show-pony CBD shots that are even sharper.

Google Earth still offers many more options, and is more mobile-friendly, but Bing does give you a basic street map overlay - which is probably what 90% of punters are after.

Both companies pull satellite pictures from various third parties to feed their aerial mapping services. But right now, it's clear who's packaging it into a better local view.

Nice to see one element of Microsoft’s big Bing push finally reaching our shores.

(*Yes, hundreds of millions of marketing dollars later - albeit none spent here - I still feel the need to clumsily describe what Bing is.)