Virtually every road in the UK will now appear on Google's Street View
Google is extending its Street View service to peer at 95 per cent of homes in the UK, despite criticism that it amounts to an invasion of privacy.
From today, 360-degree pictures will be available of virtually every street from Penzance to Shetland. An extra 210,000 miles of detailed mapping will be made public.
The service has previously been restricted to major cities.
Street View images are captured by a Google car fitted with a panoramic camera on its roof.
Pedestrianised areas including Stonehenge and the banks of Loch Ness were shot by a Google tricycle.
Concerns have been raised that burglars could use the service to pick out targets.
Residents in the village of Broughton, Buckinghamshire, last year formed a human chain to block Google vehicles from their streets.
Simon Davies, of campaign group Privacy International, yesterday questioned whether Street View was breaking the law.
He said people can still be recognised even though Google takes steps to blur images of faces.
'Google should have consulted widely before it deployed such a system,' he said.
'People shouldn't be seduced into believing that just because a technology appears to be cool it must be allowed to proceed.'
Google's Geospatial Technologist, Ed Parsons, said: 'Street View takes mapping to a level not possible before.
'This new imagery of so many stunning British places means it's the ideal time to start planning a trip, kickstart a house-hunt or simply ensure you never arrive late to a meeting again.'
Google provides a 'report a problem' button on Street View for users to flag up inappropriate or sensitive images to be reviewed and removed.
This allows anyone to ask that images of themselves, their car or their house are erased from the service.
Google is extending its Street View service to peer at 95 per cent of homes in the UK, despite criticism that it amounts to an invasion of privacy.
From today, 360-degree pictures will be available of virtually every street from Penzance to Shetland. An extra 210,000 miles of detailed mapping will be made public.
The service has previously been restricted to major cities.
The current Street View coverage - highlighted in blue - is very patchy. This is set to change dramatically tomorrow, with few roads escaping the Google camera
Street View images are captured by a Google car fitted with a panoramic camera on its roof.
Pedestrianised areas including Stonehenge and the banks of Loch Ness were shot by a Google tricycle.
Concerns have been raised that burglars could use the service to pick out targets.
Privacy campaigners complained that Street View did not muzz out all faces, like this woman near Regent Street. but the Information Commissioner found that Google removed such images quickly
Google Street View has used panoramic cameras mounted on cars and trikes to reach every corner of Britain
Residents in the village of Broughton, Buckinghamshire, last year formed a human chain to block Google vehicles from their streets.
Simon Davies, of campaign group Privacy International, yesterday questioned whether Street View was breaking the law.
He said people can still be recognised even though Google takes steps to blur images of faces.
'Google should have consulted widely before it deployed such a system,' he said.
'People shouldn't be seduced into believing that just because a technology appears to be cool it must be allowed to proceed.'
Google's Geospatial Technologist, Ed Parsons, said: 'Street View takes mapping to a level not possible before.
'This new imagery of so many stunning British places means it's the ideal time to start planning a trip, kickstart a house-hunt or simply ensure you never arrive late to a meeting again.'
Google provides a 'report a problem' button on Street View for users to flag up inappropriate or sensitive images to be reviewed and removed.
This allows anyone to ask that images of themselves, their car or their house are erased from the service.
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