Hi DerBandit,
Virtual Earth from M$, (I'm not a fan of MicroSoft, I put up with their software because it is used world wide, (I have seen better windows systems)), is free to download but you need an authentic XP/Vista installed.
It is good but some of the areas are older than others, if you look at the image below you will see that the Millenium Tower in Portsmouth, (which was started in about 2002), the footings are there but that is all. There is probably a 5 year gap between the two areas.
There are only a few areas that have the Birdseye view available. If you go outside of a major city or town then there are not that many.
I like it and use it all the time for finding routes to places that I don't know. I also use it to look at areas suggested in the SS08 forum as a place that should be included like The Thames and Liverpool.
Regards, Dave
Sorry, I had to edit this post as the pictures were over the memory limit