It’s finally here, Google Street View South Africa is LIVE ! Little over 9 months ago, on 1 September 2009, Google announced it was collecting data to launch Street View in South Africa, using specialized cameras mounted on top of a fleet of Toyota Prius cars. As the cars drive down the street, the camera automatically takes still photos in all directions simultaneously. These photos are then stitched together, and loaded in to Google Maps. Users of Google Maps can use Street View to look around a panoramic photo of a location shown on a map. Today, 8 June 2010, Google has activated these 360 degree street view photos for South Africa!

Google Street View will not cover every street in South Africa, but will focus on 360 degree street scenes, covering Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Durban. They also used a Google Street View Trike to photograph Chapman’s Peak drive, Table Mountain, Soccer City, Moses Mabhida Stadium, and more…

“We are not launching Street View [yet] – we are only launching the collection of data for Street View,” said Google country manager for South Africa Stephen Newton in September 2009, “The launch [of Street View] will be . . . way before the 2010 soccer World Cup.”

With the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup just 3 days away, Google Street View has been launched a little later than planned, but rather late than never.

Here is an example of Google Street View of Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban:

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View 360 Street View of all the 2010 Soccer Stadium here

How to use Google Street View South Africa:

1. Go to http://maps.google.co.za
2. Search for the address you want to go to (eg. Grayston Dr, Sandton, South Africa )
3. Click “Search Maps” button
4. On the left of the map, drag the yellow man onto the road you want to view a Street View of.
5. The Street View will popup. Click and drag on the 360 degree panoramic Street View to look around.
6. It feels as if you are standing there!

What you should know about Google Street View South Africa:

• Google Street View is free to use (standard data charges may apply).
• Street View can be accessed in Google Earth application, on the website maps.google.co.za
• Mobile Street View can be accessed on the mobile version of Google Maps (most Nokias, iPhone, Blackberry, etc)

Security issues surrounding Street View:

Google uses a face blurring technology, which automatically detects faces and numberplates, and blurs them to protect your identity. If you find any of the Street View images objectionable, you can report your objection to Google, and they will promptly address the situation.

Here is a Google video which briefly shows how Google Street View works:

Want to get inside that building?

360 degee panoramic Virtual Tours combined with Google Street View make for a powerful marketing tool, and a rich online experience. Check out 360 South Africa for a portfolio of 360 degree panoramic Virtual Tours (much like Google Street View) of attractions in South Africa,  as well as the inside of Hotels and more.

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