These programs serve satellite and aerial imagery draped over interactive, three-dimensional software representations of earth.

This seems an odd claim. Has anyone seen a program from Microsoft that attempts this? I wonder why it would be stated as past-tense fact. Google Earth does this, as does NASA's World Wind, but I the only Microsoft product I've seen announced/introduced in this general space is the 2D panning "Microsoft Virtual Earth" (http://virtualearth.msn.com/) That does not to the best of my knowledge have the virtues claimed in the UCSB call for papers.

Strange.