Online Mapping Showdown - Which Is Best?

The three mapping services run neck and neck on basic criteria, with Google slightly ahead, but it pulls away on superior traffic information and street view.

"Ask anyone what Websites they can't live without: After mentioning their e-mail service and Google, they'll invariably point to an online mapping service as a key to modern life.

But which of the big mapping services is best? We took a hard look at three of the most popular online mapping sites--Google Maps, MapQuest, and the up-and-coming Microsoft Bing Maps--to see which one got us from point A to point B (and points C and D, if necessary) the most smoothly. Here are our findings in six test categories."