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Google photographs your office (on Tyneside)

Internet giant Google has launched its Street View service in the UK, allowing a virtual 3D view of streets in major towns and cities.

While many people were worried about potential privacy implications, the launch was typically greeted on the internet by articles, blog posts, and tweets along the lines of ‘I can see my house’ or ‘that’s my car’.

Street View UK allows anyone in the world to type an address or postcode and see a 360 degree picture of the street - including close-ups of buildings, cars and people.

Newcastle and Gateshead are the only locations to have been mapped in the North East to date, so if you fancy a virtual tour of either you can start at the Tyne Bridge. If you’re really nosy, you can have a peek through the windows of bdaily Towers.

Google Street View was launched in America two years ago, and has since been expanded to cities in France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Cars painted with the company’s logo have taken hundreds of thousands of photographs of streets and houses over the last year.

Critics say the site makes it easy for burglars to check out potential victims, and in America it has also led to complaints about breaches of privacy.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .