14 DAY TRIAL // Although the Mountain View company sustained Street View will soon invade Canada, it seems like the Google Maps function is now aiming to expand into Europe and more exactly, in UK. There is nothing official at this time but several Internet users reported they spotted the Google WV Beetle which is used to capture street-level photos in London. Dvorak Uncensored even managed to capture a photo with this special equipped car and published it on the web saying that "if you see this vehicle around London be sure to run after it. Google is using it to make the 'Street View' of London. That way you can guarantee that you will appear in as many pictures as possible."
In case you don't know, Street View is a Google Maps function which shows high-resolution photos captured from the streets by special cars equipped with new-generation digital cameras. Until now, the feature has been rolled out only for several US cities but the Mountain View company always wanted to expand it into several new countries. This release would support the Google plans which seeks to become more powerful in Europe, an unexploited land for the super giant.
Greg Sterling from Search Engine Land wrote that Google officially confirmed that Google Maps is going to be released in the UK and in several other countries from Europe. "Google officially confirmed to us that StreetView is going to the UK and Europe (and elsewhere eventually around the globe). Coverage right now is focused on "major metropolitan areas." No word, however, on when these images will go live."
Since Street View went out, it has caused many problems for the Mountain View company because some of the consumers considered that it shows a little bit too many pictures than it should as some of them are revealing private information even from their houses. Google defended itself by saying the function does not infringe users' privacy because the photos show exactly what is discoverable from the street.