Washington — With the present economic scenario globally, most people are terminating their vacation trips to far flung countries. But making a virtual tour of France might be the only solution many of us can afford right away.
The original set of French pics was significant insofar as it was the first time Street View had left the States, but disappointing since it stuck to the Tour de France route. This time around, Street View explored six significant French cities.
“We have now added coverage for six major cities in France: Street View now includes street-level photographs of Paris, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Marseilles, and Nice,” Luc Vincent, engineering director of Street View and a native of France, said Wednesday in a blog.
“France is the first European country to benefit from Street View imagery, and I’m delighted that many of my favorite places are included in the new coverage, including the street where I grew up.”
Google offered a sneak preview of coming attractions in July by showing Street View for the Tour de France bicycle race route.
On the LatLong Blog, Vincent explained, “We decided to add coverage for big cities in order to make the product as useful as possible for our French Maps users.”
“Using Street View, you can now stroll down the Champs Elysees, explore the old port of Marseille, journey along La Promenade des Anglais in Nice or take a tour around La Croix Rousse in Lyon.” “It is also great for people all around the world to catch a glimpse of France in order to plan holidays, to learn about a new place, or to have a chance to see many of the beautiful sites for themselves.”
Street View has been controversial product because of privacy issues and Google announced in May that it was testing technology that would blur the faces of people pictured in street scenes.
Google introduced Street View in the U.S. in May 2007, and expanded it to Australia and Japan in August.
Last month, Google added Street View and walking directions to Google Maps for mobile. The downloadable app will pinpoint your location via GPS and allow you to get walking or driving directions from your phone.
As for the future, it seems that Google is not allowing its problems in Germany act as show stoppers. Vincent wrote, “We look forward to adding Street View coverage for more cities and countries in Europe”
Google declined to give detail of when the Street View will spread to other parts of Europe. “We have been taking photographs to bring Street View to Europe and we will be adding Street View imagery for new cities and countries on an ongoing basis,” the company said in a statement.