Streets ahead

Google has updated their Maps page to include an astonishing new feature. As well as the usual “Map” and “Satellite” view, there is now a “Street” view on offer.

Zoom in on a city (New York, for example), click on any of its streets and a pop-up window will appear that allows you to see things from the point of view of someone standing in the middle of the road. If you click and drag the picture, you’ll find that you can rotate your point of view a full 360 degrees!! :O It really is amazingly cool.

This impressive feat was accomplished by driving around the cities with a camera strapped to the car and then joining all the images together later. Understandably, given its colossal scope, this addition has only been applied to a handful of the larger cities in America. But I’m guessing we can look forward to something similar for all major cities in the years to come.