Does a Silverlight 3 out of browser (OOB) application support Bing Maps or Virtual Earth Maps?

Question

Is it possible to use any Microsoft Map component / control to integrate a map in a Silverlight 3 out of browser (only) application?

Answer 1

Microsoft has the Bing Maps Silverlight Control that allows you to implement Bing Maps within a Silverlight application. And, yes you can use this control in a Silverlight 3 "out of browser" application.

Here's a "Getting Started" tutorial on using the control:

http://pietschsoft.com/post/2009/03/Getting-Started-Virtual-Earth-Silverlight-Map-Control-SDK-CTP.aspx

One thing to note is that the current release of the Bing Maps Silverlight Control (at the time of posting this) is a CTP (Community Tech Preview) and can not be used in a production application. Microsoft is moving forward with Silverlight and Bing Maps, so I suspect that there will be a "Final" release sometime in the future; however, Microsoft has yet to announce when it will be available.

Answer 2

The Silverlight Bing Maps control is now 1.0 and can be used in production applications.

Bing Maps Silverlight Control