UTV News - NI streets go global on Google

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NI streets go global on Google

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Google has upgraded its Street View imaging service to cover more than 95% of UK roads, but Northern Irish users will draw a blank when searching for locations across the Irish border.
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Google's Street View has been available in 25 cities, including Belfast and Lisburn, since last March, but the increased coverage makes an additional 210,000 miles of detailed mapping public.

Nearly every single street in Northern Ireland has now been captured by Google's cameras, but the service upgrade hasn't yet been extended to include the Republic of Ireland.

Street View images are captured by Google's car, fitted with a special panoramic camera on its roof.

Despite featuring images visible only from public roads, Street View has attracted critics who believe the detailed street-level information could be exploited by criminals.

Google says it has taken steps to preserve anonymity. Its technology automatically blurs number plates and faces and users can ask for their homes or cars to be removed.

Google believes the service will be a boost for local businesses, which can embed its maps into their own sites for free.

"If people are looking to plan their route they can get photographs of the town and see the business and the unique retail environment in Strabane Town centre", Joe Barbour from the Strabane Chamber of Commerce told UTV.

"The photographs are really sharp and of good quality and hopefully there will be a spin off for Strabane".

Nathan Flatman, from the Alley Theatre in Strabane, agrees.

"It puts Strabane on the map worldwide and it gives a window of opportunity for people to look, no matter where they are travelling from - if it's New York or England or Scotland, to see where they are going to."

© UTV News

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