Microsoft Buys Multimap, European Online Mapping CompanyMicrosoft Buys Multimap, European Online Mapping Company

Microsoft is growing its global footprint again, this time putting a geographic stamp on Europe by buying Multimap, a leading British online mapping company, for an undisclosed sum.

The Multimap purchase appears to be an acquisition that's as much about growing Microsoft's customer base as it is about technology. Multimap, which was founded in 1996, is the second largest consumer mapping service in the United Kingdom, according to comScore.

In an interview with information earlier this year, Microsoft VP Satya Nadella, who runs the company's search and advertising business, pegged local search and mapping as one of the priorities for Microsoft's Live Search teams.

Multimap also has the data Microsoft and competitors are hunting down to fill in gaps as they expand their mapping and location-based advertising services worldwide. The company's extensive roadmaps of Europe should help Microsoft there. However, Microsoft still lags behind Google, which leads the online mapping market.

Multimap also brings Microsoft a fairly extensive list of corporate customers and potential advertisers for its own mapping services, including Hilton, Vodafone, Ford, Avis, and Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, among others. The company offers mobile applications, a store-finder service, asset tracking, and travel directions to corporations.

It's not a leap to think it will be merged with Microsoft's technology at some point. The two companies offer very similar services to both consumers and businesses. And Multimap has recently introduced some new functionality, such as a service pointing mobile phone users to nearby wireless hot spots.

However, Justin Osmer, a Microsoft senior product manager for Live Search, said it's "a little early to tell" exactly how Multimap's technology and interface will be integrated with Microsoft's own Live Search Maps service and Virtual Earth mapping platform.