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The principle draw of the software is the geotagging feature which allows users to add geographic information, including longitude and latitude and city name, on where the photograph was taken, making it easier to search for.

This information can either be taken from a handheld GPS unit, or by dragging the photograph onto Live Maps and dropping it wherever the picture was taken.

While

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cynics may argue that Google has already beaten it to the punch with its geotagging feature in Picasa, Microsoft believes Pro Photo Tools has much more to offer.

"Our software contains a much richer set of tools for geotagging, and offers very broad support for RAW files," says Josh Weisberg, of Microsoft's Rich Media Group.

Pro Photo Tools has grown out of Microsoft Photo Info, which allowed users to add metadata such as captions and copyright notices. The company now intends to bulk up the feature set with three new releases a year, though Weisberg wouldn't be drawn on what those may be.

While Pro Photo Tools would seem to be a direct rival for Adobe's Lightroom software, Weisberg claims the company is not focused on competitors.

"We're not really thinking about competitors, we just set out to solve some really specific problems our customers are still having. One of those was organising their photographs, and geotagging really helps there."