In December, TechCrunch reported that Microsoft had met its earlier promise to bring rich 3D imaging of several cities to Windows 8.1 through a new Bing Maps Preview application. Today, Microsoft extended that work to include 15 new cities.

Why the gap between release and new content? The company had to go out and, well, collect the information contained therein. You can snag the app here, if you are a Windows 8.1 user.

What cities are among the newly added? Here’s the full list: Duisburg, Dresden, Spain, Marbella, Murcia Montgomery (AL), Bakersfield (CA), Sacramento (CA), San Francisco (CA), Gainesville (FL), Tallahassee (FL), Columbus (GA), Baton Rouge (LA), Shreveport (LA), Gulport (MS), Seattle (WA).

Why should you care? The update signals continued investment by Microsoft not only in its set of Bing -powered applications for Windows 8.1, but also that Bing itself has the budget to spend on — presumably — expensive projects to highlight its own competence. That and given Microsoft’s work to harmonize the Bing app experience between Windows Phone and Windows 8.x, that this technology will land on smartphones in the future.