With the release of the Atlas technology preview developers have a new way to emulate AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) programming concepts while using familiar ASP.NET server control style programming. Atlas allows Web applications to make asynchronous calls to back-end systems from multiple browsers (Netscape, IE, Firefox, Safari, etc.) without postbacks. This provides an enhanced user interface for end users that is more friendly, more responsive and more efficient.

This application demonstrates different Atlas features including Atlas server controls with autocomplete enabled, JavaScript integration, asynchronous calls to multiple Web Services and Virtual Earth maps. The sample allows end users to search for Northwind Customers by Country or by customer ID. As customers are found their country is dynamically displayed using the Atlas Virtual Earth control. An image showing the application is shown below:

The sample application requires the Microsoft.Web.Atlas.dll assembly as well as the Atlas JavaScript files. These files can be download from the Atlas Website using the supplied Visual Studio .NET 2005 VSI file (simply download the proper .vsi file and double-click it). It is important to note that Atlas is a preview technology so the code will likely change substantially before Atlas is officially released. 

Download the sample code from the XML for ASP.NET Developers Website:  http://www.xmlforasp.net/CodeSection.aspx?csID=116

Update:
Wilco Bauwer has taken my initial concept and put a different spin on it which is pretty cool.  He also made it much more declarative vs. using JavaScript as much as in my demo.  Read his blog here: http://www.wilcob.com/Wilco/Default/158/showpost.aspx