If you reside in Brazil, or are planning a trip to the South American nation, then Bing may be your new best friend. The Microsoft search engine has announced a new project that it hopes will bring together the ‘Na área’.
What is coming together are known as the fevalas, areas right within the middle of cities. Bing is looking to the locals for help with the project, stating it wants to “highlight tourist attractions, landmarks, hotels and other points of interest, starting with pilot programs in the Vidigal, Complexo de Maré and Manguinhos favelas — informal settlements that combined are home to 200,000 people. The results are already showing up on local searches”.
Why is this important? Microsoft explains that “the favelas are often right in the middle of major metropolitan areas, yet they may as well be invisible to people from outside the area, because these spots aren’t indexed by search engines. Bing has been able to work with partners who help ensure that the knowledge of local inhabitants is conveyed in the mapping”.
This announcement is not entirely coincidental, as the World Cup kicks off (pun intended) next month in the Portugese-speaking nation and many folks from around the world will be flocking to the country to catch the action.
