From the press release MSN Continues Investments in Search With the Launch of Local Search we learn

Starting today, consumers in the United States will see a new Local category added to the MSN Search options on MSN.com. When consumers search for local information, they will receive results from city- and region-specific White Pages and Yellow Pages directory information. For example, a local search on “auto mechanics” could bring up listings of nearby mechanics, repair shops and towing companies.

Each local search result is shown as a numbered pin on a corresponding map provided through Microsoft^® MapPoint^® Web Service, and digital aerial images are supplied by TerraServer-USA when available for a given search result. The TerraServer-USA Web site is one of the world’s largest online databases, providing access to a vast data store of maps and aerial photographs of the United States. Originating at the Microsoft Bay Area Research Center, TerraServer is operated by Microsoft as a research project for developing advanced database technology.

The new MSN Local Search functionality is an evolution of the Near Me search feature that debuted on MSN Search in February of this year and allowed consumers to receive search results tailored to a geographic location. Those interested in trying the beta of the new offering should visit http://www.msn.com.

Kudos to the MapPoint/VirtualEarth and MSN Search folks for getting this out the door. My first test was trying a search for "pizza" in my area.  I decided to figure out how to specify my location with more accuracy. Come to think of it I'm not sure how it even figured out to look in Seattle. Anyway I followed the link from the phrase How do I change my location? and saw that I can specify my city, state and zip code in the settings page which is stored in a cookie.

There are two minuses here. The first is that I can't store my exact address. When I'm looking for a pizza place I want to find one that delivers in my area not just one in the same city as me. The second is that I can only store one location which is one better than Google Maps but quite poor when compared to Yahoo! Maps. It looks like I'll be sticking with Yahoo! for now. I will send the MSN Search folks some feedback about needing to add these features.

By the way, a more direct link to the service is http://search.msn.com/local.