In case you’ve been completely unplugged for the past week (and therefore not reading this blog) Microsoft has launched Bing, its much anticipated search engine. What surprised–and frankly delighted me–is that they’ve planted their flag pole firmly in the travel category. Each day showcases a panoramic photo of a different destination–Florence, the Great Barrier Reef, Las Vegas–with factoids that appear and disappear over different parts of the image as you move your cursor.  Video and image searches maximize social media so that you can see both professional (i.e. beautifully staged) and amateur (i.e. true to life) shots to help you make a more informed decision about whether or not this is a place you’d actually like to visit.  I also like their travel blog, which balances the newsy–swine flu, Ryanair’s decision to start charging passengers for the privilege to pee while aloft– with big picture questions posed by travel heavyweights such as Rick Steves and Pauline Frommer about the promises and perils of going places. I especially liked Frommer’s posting about traveling while your children are younger than two so you can save both save money and not have to amend your itinerary to suit their interests.

Can a vacation be an effective substitute for a shrink? Journalist Karen Schaler thinks the answer is yes. Her new book”Travel Therapy: Where do you need to go?” sells the idea that traveling can promote better mental health. We couldn’t agree more, but then again, we’re the Escape Artists.  On her blog, Schaler writes that Vice President Joe Biden — he of the dire swine flu warnings — needs her book. “I would recommend chapter two for the Vice President, called The Big Chill, featuring stress busting vacations,” she writes. “Or perhaps chapter five that’s all about reconnecting with people or even chapter nine that talks about how to re-invent yourself. “ Have you taken a vacation that’s helped your mental health?Â