Google Street View for Ireland

Slightly odd that I was only talking about this yesterday , but as it turns out the Google car has been cruising around Ireland since Monday last, getting ready to start Street View'ing next week. The black car with a giant panoramic camera (and Google logo on the side) will be adding Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford to the list of Street View'd cities around the world, and bring the total number of countries to 10. Google's online, 360 degree panoramic map system will allow users to see Ireland (and its people!) as they really are.

Ed Parsons, Google's geospatial technologist, says it will take from three to four months to up to a year to complete the Irish addition. The actual areas covered will be city centres and suburban and outlying areas, but it will vary for each location depending on population density and business activity.

While there are many pedestrian areas in all these locations, Parsons confirmed that they too would be covered, but he would not divulge how. It has also been confirmed by Iarla Flynn, European policy manager for Google, that full use will be made of Google's advanced blurring tools to ensure both faces and registration plates are concealed.