Your street as you've never seen it — on Google
THE streets of South Devon will come alive on Google tomorrow when the internet giant increases the availability of its Street View service.
Last year their cars were spotted around the streets, capturing images for their online mapping service.
That will be live from tomorrow, catching up with the 25 UK cities which have already been photographed and uploaded for anyone to see.
Google first launched the service in March 2009, and since doing so has been working hard to process and stitch together more imagery collected by its cars.
By increasing availability to cover almost all of the country, the UK joins countries like Spain, France, Italy and the US, which already enjoy nationwide coverage in Street View.
Apart from the odd missing street, people will be able to view and explore 360 degree street-level imagery of places from around South Devon, including Dartmoor.
Faces are automatically blurred and residents can request their home to be removed.
A spokesman for Google said: "People can check out a restaurant before arriving, make travel plans, arrange meeting points, get a helping hand with geography homework, or just get to know their town better."
Ed Parsons, Google's 'geospatial technologist', added: "Street View takes mapping to a new level not possible before."
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by Outraged, Torquay
Thursday, March 11 2010, 2:10PM
“I'm with Mark on this one. "Everybody has a right to view live sattelite imagery so you can focus on a penny on the ground from space." I mean, Cheryl Cole could be bikini-clad and sunbathing in her back garden at this very minute - and I would be none-the-wiser! I'm outraged! Why should Gordon Brown and the rest of the Government get this useful little extra on their home PCs? Something should really be done about this.”
by mark, uk
Thursday, March 11 2010, 8:13AM
“i simply cant understand why we aren't allowed to launch missiles into space from our home PC. This is the way it is going to go so why not introduce it now already.”
by mark, uk
Wednesday, March 10 2010, 9:05PM
“it wont be that long away untill home pc users have acess to live sattelite imagery and video. google will have there own live view video sattelite one day. that is the way it is going. the government can actually leave scorch marks on grass from space with there satelite technology there technology is that good. i dont understand why the public have not yet been given acess to live sattelite imagery. why should only the governmnet be allowed acess. everybody has a right to view live sattelite imagery so you can focus on a penny on the ground from space.”
by mark, uk
Wednesday, March 10 2010, 8:59PM
“some photos of streets. nothing to get excited over. i don't see why people stare at the google panaramic camera when it drives around and look at it in awe and amazment like it has come here from somewhere else. Ive never understood why some simple minded individuals get so amazed by something so simple”
by Gareth, Plainmoor
Wednesday, March 10 2010, 6:40PM
“Uh oh - I have a bad feeling about this: I think I may have been pictured in the buff holding a cup of coffee as is traditional for me in the morning. I wondered what that odd vehicle was at the time - now I know.”