Shoothill maps political expenses row onto Virtual Earth with MSN
27th May 2009
Ongoing row over expenses visualised onto a Virtual Earth map
MSN, the Internet portal, has visualised the extent of MP's expense claims via an interactive Virtual Earth map to allow the general public to see, at a glance, the extent of their local MP's claimed expenses in context.
Shoothill, the geo-coded data specialists, were inspired to map the data from the House of Commons as the expenses scandal rumbled on, in order to add a new dimension of understanding to the ongoing debacle. "The map allows our users to quickly see how much their MP has claimed in expenses and what the regional variations are between MPs. It is a valuable tool for our users. Shoothill has helped give MSN's users another level of insight into the MPs' expenses story,." says - Alistair Bruce, Senior Content Manager for MSN.
"By mapping the expenses in such a graphical way it is easy to see the extent of the claims made by MP's in relation to each other", said Rod Plummer, Managing Director of Shoothill, "There are many aspects of the expenses claims that become much more real when seen in the context of a map. For instance, it would be reasonable to expect expenses to, on the whole, increase as the MP's get further away from London due to increased travel costs, something which is not reflected in the numbers."
Using their in-house developed server control software, VE-Locity, Shoothill can rapidly geo-code complex data and present it within the Virtual Earth Environment, allowing for quick publication on the world wide web.
About MSN and Windows Live
MSN attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. Windows Live, a new set of personal Internet services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the Web. MSN and Windows Live are being offered alongside each other as complementary services.
MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx
About Shoothill
Shoothill is a highly specialised developer of geo-spatial business applications using Microsoft Virtual Earth at its core.
We work in many arenas and sectors and our experience has shown that no matter what your business, Shoothill can develop business improvement tools that deliver commercial benefit and competitor advantage. Whether you are using a mapping system already, or wish to look into the possibilities of geo-spatial application development, Shoothill are the perfect partner. We will provide impartial and professional advice and give guidance on what technologies are best suited for your business.
For further information please contact:
Shoothill Ltd
Tel +44 (0) 845 4210390
info@shoothill.com
