Google marks 15 years of Street View / Photo: Justin TALLIS - AFP/File
-
$1.8 Billion Pledged for Biodiversity at COP17 as Monaco Reaffirms Commitment
-
Karen Wazen Launches First Standalone Boutiques in Cairo
-
Phoenix Symphony Resumes Performances Amid Financial Uncertainty
-
Municipal Elections: How Service Failure Becomes a Public Health Crisis in South Africa
-
Turkish Energy Minister Highlights Qatar as Key Partner for Regional and Global Energy Security
-
Rene Eyre Revisits Autobiographical Performance 'Say A Little Prayer' in London
-
London Museum Granted 24/7 License Ahead of November Opening
-
UAE's HCT Holds Record Graduation and Announces Major Training Expansion
-
Dana White Confirms Flight to Washington for Trump Meeting on Press Secretary Role
-
NASA Awards $10B Lunar Contract Framework to SpaceX, Blue Origin
-
Dengue Fever Expands Into High Himalayas as Climate Change Warms Nepal
-
Katy Perry Tells Fans Ex-Husband Russell Brand 'Should Be in Jail' During UK Concert
-
IoT Refrigerator Hacks Disrupt Blood Labs and Supermarkets Across Europe and US
Google marks 15 years of Street View
Google celebrated on Tuesday 15 years since it kicked off its mammoth and hugely controversial effort to photograph streets in minute detail across the globe.
The panoramic images of Google Street View have slipped into daily life for millions -- but during its early years it attracted countless court cases and howls of anguish from privacy campaigners.
The US tech giant is marking the anniversary by releasing a slew of new features, including an improved version of the "time travel" tool that allows users to see previous photos taken by Google's cameras.
The firm also published lists of the most popular destinations for users -- with Burj Khalifa in Dubai taking the top spot for buildings, followed by the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal.
Google said Indonesia was the most popular country for Street View, ahead of the United States, Japan, Mexico and Brazil.
The Indonesian capital Jakarta was the most searched city, beating Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paolo and Buenos Aires.
The firm boasted in a blog post that it had collected 220 billion images and travelled more than 10 million miles since the first images were released of cities including San Francisco, New York and Miami.
It has since provided armchair travellers with panoramic views everywhere from the peak of Everest to the depths of the Great Barrier Reef.
But as Google expanded its reach, it drew widespread criticism and years of scrutiny from regulators in several European countries -- large parts of Germany are still absent from the tool.
It has also faced several embarrassing moments when inadvertently capturing images of a private nature.
In 2013, the firm photographed a couple having sex next to their car on an otherwise deserted road in Australia, and the picture briefly made it onto the platform.
S.Pimentel--PC
