Microsoft, looking to expand its mobile and embedded market share, has disclosed its plans to make a foray into the heady world of satellite navigation.

Showing off the snappily-named Windows Embedded Navready 2009, the software giant pointed out that many sat-nav users were ready to upgrade and expand upon their old kit, and it seems this is where the corporation hopes to win big. Navready promises a variety of trinkets like native Bluetooth compatibility, integration with Microsoft’s Live Search, MSN Direct and Vista Sideshow capabilities. Positioned at the centre of growing convergence in mobile gadgetry, Microsoft’s Navready kits aim to turn your humble in-car navigator into an all-singing wonderbox that lets you search the web while broken down at the side of the road, or connect your PDA for all manner of interconnected loveliness at the drive-thru. Samuel Wang, CEO of Mio, seems excited by this prospect, gushing that he is ‘looking forward to bringing our next-generation PNDs to market with a richer end-user experience and in a reduced timeframe.’

 These new super sat-navs should be appearing soon, and we just hope that the greater integration with the web and Live Search won’t bring with it ads and other annoyances that Microsoft has threatened to push out to mobile devices. The last thing you’d want while stuck on the M25 would be your sat-nav trying to flog you Vista on a shiny new laptop.