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Google kicks off UK launch of Street View

Google has today launched its Street View technology in the UK in partnership with FindaProperty.com.

Street View has been designed to allow users to explore the surrounding areas of properties advertised online from the comfort of their own homes, by clicking on a link next to the property.

To use the new feature, site users simply pinpoint an area they wish to explore, which then allows them to zoom in and out of 360 degree, real-life images of the area.

The technology is built on street images that have been taken of public roads around 25 UK cities since last summer. The pictures were taken using car roof-mounted cameras (pictured).

Faces and car registration plates are automatically blurred in Street View, and people who do not want their houses to appear through the service can apply for their removal.

The Digital Property Group, parent company of FindaProperty.com, plans to roll out Street View on Primelocation.com, Homesandproperty.co.uk and FindaNewHome.com over the next week.

Chris Boorman, head of product development at FindaProperty.com, says: "For our member agents, Street View will fully complement their advertising listings and encourage potential buyers and renters to spend more time investigating their next home.

"It also neatly supplements the agent's role as the local expert with functionality that brings a property search to life."

Street View first launched in the US in 2007, and is now available in nine countries.

The UK cities that can currently be viewed through Street View include Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bradford, Leeds, London, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby, Bristol, Coventry, Glasgow, Swansea, York, Newcastle, Dundee, Southampton, Norwich, Scunthorpe.

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