The first thing you need before connecting to the Bing Maps servers is a Bing Maps developer key. The Bing Maps portal (http://www.bingmapsportal.com) allows you to create a Bing Maps account and one or more Bing Maps keys.

To request a Bing Maps key from Microsoft:

  1. Go to http://www.bingmapsportal.com.

  2. Sign in with your Windows Live ID, or create one.

  3. Click "Create or view keys".

  4. Choose "Evaluation / Trial" and click Submit. The key is created.

Note that additional terms may apply for deployment. For more information on Bing Maps licensing, see the Licensing info guide.