In the Seattle-based wrote that users downloading a map with 500 pushpins, each denoting a potential home, would be able to see the map 385% faster.

users experience a threefold boost in speed with Redfin's maps, as do IE 7 users, Young wrote. While praising both Virtual Earth and Google as "solid choices," Young said "in the end, it was speed, speed, speed that convinced us to switch.

"Users who come to Redfin's site now should see maps load and render just a little bit quicker, which makes us feel a little Googley inside," he wrote.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Redfin was using a mix of Microsoft and Google maps, though it had been primarily using Virtual Earth since 2006, Young wrote. At the time, Google Maps was "faster out of the box but slower once we started drawing on it, especially on IE 6." The news was first reported by