Google is reportedly testing laser and photographic equipment that could create 3D grids of urban streets and buildings. Starting with San Francisco, Google plans to make 3D photo-maps of many cities around the world John Battelle doesn't understand why, but if this is true the competitive reasoning would be obvious. Google enjoys a competitive advantage in local search thanks to its one-two-three punch of Local, Maps, and Earth. But the atmosphere is intense, with Yahoo! developing at a furious clip and Amazon's A9 already offering storefront photos of entire cities in its Yellow Pages area. Microsoft has unveiled 45-degree-angled satellite imagery in MSN Earth, arguably stealing some of Google Earth's relatively flat thunder. Google is in the rat race, and there's no stopping now. Besides, 3D street imagery connected to local search listing and driving directions could actually be useful. While Maps offers excellent clarity and detail, and Earth provides realism with less detail, a 3D image taken at street level could bridge them together.