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More photographs of Wirral to go online in updated version of Street View this week



WIRRAL residents will be able to see more photographs of the borough online from tomorrow when an updated version of Google's Street View is launched.

When it was launched last year, the site featured images taken in 25 cities, but inner city areas like Wirral were almost totally excluded, except for maps of the borough.

In a bid to put photographs of Wirral and the whole country online, Google UK has added more pictures that have been collected by its fleet of camera cars. To see them, visit maps.google.co.uk from tomorrow.

The site's users can also check out a restaurant before arriving, make travel plans, arrange meeting points, get a helping hand with geography homework, or just get to know their town better.

Research from YouGov revealed how people use it in their daily lives.

It found that 60% of people who have used Street View had done so to find out where they're going and get directions.

According to the research one third, 33%, of those questioned said they had used it to look at places in other countries and one in five, 21%, have used it for house-hunting, despite up until now only being available in 25 UK cities.

Ed Parsons, Google's Geospatial technologist said: "Street View takes mapping to a new level not possible before. And with so many practical applications, it's no wonder that over two thirds of people who had tried the service said they would use Street View again.

"This new imagery of so many stunning British places means it's the ideal time to start planning a trip, kick start a house-hunt or simply ensure you never arrive late to a meeting again."

When Street View was launched last year, there were concerns from members of the public that their privacy had been invaded with certain photographs.

To tackle this, a 'report a problem' tool is available on the site for viewers to flag inappropriate or sensitive imagery for review and removal.

The facility gives users the choice to remove themselves, their car or their house completely from Street View if they like.

If the site's blurring tool has missed the odd face or licence plate, report the problem to us Street View and extra blurring will be applied.

Google UK has consulted extensively with many privacy and community groups in developing the feature and privacy safeguards.

http://maps.google.co.uk/

THE GLOBE

I'd be more impressed if they kept the one they've got up to date. People come to see my house and are hacked off because there is no paddock behind it, as on Google. It's 3 yrs out of date.

The screens are dated to show when they were taken

Street view is great. I came back from Manchester with Middle Daughter on Monday and we were able to look at and round where we had been.