This morning at MIX 09, Microsoft announced that they are releasing a Virtual Earth Map Control SDK for Silverlight as a CTP (Community Technology Preview). Downloads will be available later this week.

The Microsoft Virtual Earth Blog announcement can be found here.

I have already seen some demos of the new Silverlight Virtual Earth SDK, and it is possible to do some neat visual effects by mixing Silverlight rich controls with Virtual Earth. We intend to have an article on using the new SDK in the next few weeks.