The Methanol Multibeam Survey
  A purpose built 7-beam methanol receiver, installed on the Parkes Radio
Telescope, was used to survey the Galactic plane for newly forming high mass
stars, pinpointed by strong methanol maser emission at 6.7 GHz. The Methanol
Multibeam (MMB) survey observed over 60% of the Galactic plane, detecting close
to 1000 sources. The MMB survey provides a huge resource for studies of
high-mass star formation, an important stage in the evolution of the
interstellar medium. The MMB survey is also a valuable resource for
investigations into the structure and dynamics of our Galaxy: with narrow
velocity ranges of emission (typically only a few km/s) and velocities closely
correlated with the systemic velocity of their surrounding molecular clouds,
6.7-GHz methanol masers provide estimates of the spiral arm velocities and
their structure. I will discuss the techniques and properties of the MMB
survey, before outlining recent results, which include the identification of
regions of enhanced star formation believed to be indicative of the origins of
the spiral arms and the interaction of the Galactic bar with the 3-kpc arms. I
will also discuss the various follow-up programmes including a study of
magnetic fields through associated hydroxyl masers.
