There are a few companies out there with such an amassed popularity that, unless you lived in the Brazilian rain forest with nothing but a loin cloth to cover your unmentionables, you can’t help but recognise them. Google is perhaps the biggest. But could Microsoft Bing - the big M’s own search engine - be about to challenge Google’s authority? Recent figures released suggest the answer could be yes.

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Ever since mobiles gobbled up GPS chips and began pulling double duty as miniature satnavs, tech-heads and future-gazers have been predicting apps that’ll “let you see who’s nearby” and connect with them, whether that’s by walking in the opposite direction, or asking if they fancy a pint. Now, however, it’s becoming reality. And not just in phones. Location awareness is everywhere.

Microsoft just showed off Vine, its new Facebook and Twitter-beater in one. It’s a dashboard widget for Windows PCs designed to show groups of friends who’s in the vicinity and what they’re up to. But there’s a more serious side than simply organising impromptu pub crawls.

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