Google Launches Street View in Estonia
Google Street View launched its service in Estonia today, allowing internet users from anywhere in the world navigate around 360-degree photos taken of streets throughout Estonia.
The free service - useful for tourists and locals, hikers and businesses alike - can be viewed at maps.google.ee by clicking and dragging the yellow stick figure onto the map.
The photos were taken with 360-degree cameras attached to roof of cars. Pictures are all taken from public roads and the faces and license plates of passersby are blurred out to protect their privacy.
First launched in 2007, Street View currently covers 30 countries.
Regio, a geospatial mapping company, finished photographing Estonian streets and sights for Google Street View last month. Privacy advocates over the world have protested the service, which could potentially capture men leaving strip clubs, protesters at abortion clinics, sunbathers, and so on.
Ott Tammik
