UK: Google launches Street View mapping service
on March 19th, 2009 at 2:08 pmUK: Google’s mapping service Street View, which stitches together live photos showing Britain’s streets, has been launched in the UK.
The internet search giant first rolled out the service in the US two years ago, and has been expanding its mapping to other countries, including Japan, France, Canada and Ireland.
The 3D images are captured by special patrol cars with roof-mounted 360-degree cameras, which take pictures of every street and road in the city.
These images are then ‘stitched’ together so that when a user searches for an address in Google Maps, they can choose to view that address as an ordinary map, a satellite image, or take a walk down the virtual street thanks to 3D photography.
The service will initially launch in 25 British cities, including London, Manchester and Edinburgh, with other major towns following in the coming months.
