Now the Internet can help you identify your house online with the aid of satellite pictures. Microsoft's Terraserver site (www.terraserver.microsoft.com) has to be one of the most fascinating applications of Web technology to date. It contains satellite images from the US Geological Survey and the Russian Space Agency. At the moment Dublin and its environs can be viewed down to one metre resolution - good enough to view a house on a street. By the end of summer Microsoft has said it will cover almost the entire globe. Though some downloads are free, others start at $7.95.

TerraServer is the biggest database ever created. Microsoft and its partners on the project - Compaq, Aerial Images and US Geological Survey - are using the site to test PC-based technology to run the biggest database Microsoft could find. It will be available online for at least 18 months.