The Leafy Streets Of Chiswick Go On-line

Street View is latest feature launched this week by Google Earth

This week saw the launch of Google Street View the latest feature of Google Maps and Google Earth that provides 360° horizontal and 290° vertical panoramic street level views and allows users to view their own homes and surrounding area ground level.

It was first launched on May 25, 2007 featuring just five American cities. It has since expanded to thousands of locations in the United States, UK, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Although just a day old in London, Street View has already provoked controversy. While the Guardian trumpeted the new feature as 'Christmas for British Snoops', Local Councillor Harry Phibbs wrote in the Daily Mail that Google should 'keep its damned nose out of my home.'

Mr Phibbs said that the new service would allow burglars to identify valuable lead in the roofs of historic buildings. "Looking up my own address I am embarrassed to see the hedge needed pruning," he added.

Other commentators were concerned that images of children and residents were sometimes visible in the photographs, although faces were blurred out.

However, other residents took a more light-hearted view like Chiswick's Maggie Philbin who posted her dream house in W4 on her Twitter page and asked "Where would you like to live in Street View?"

Images of Chiswick's streets were taken by Google's man on the ground in July last year. The photo above shows the car equipped with camera that took thousands of images that were then joined together.

March 21, 2009