Google's controversial Street View application now includes nine more Canadian cities.
On Wednesday, the Internet giant added Edmonton, Victoria, Nanaimo, B.C., Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Sudbury, Ont., London, Ont., Sherbrooke, Que. and St. John's, N.L., to a list that already includes major centres such as Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa for a total of 20 cities in Canada.
Users can “travel” around cities by looking at 360-degree photographs of every street.
“It really gives people a sense of place. There are a lot of really useful ways that people can use Street View,” said Tamara Micner, a spokesperson for Google Canada.
The application, which was launched in Canada on Oct. 7, has been pilloried by privacy advocates, who say it risks invading people's privacy.
But Google defends the application, saying all faces and license plates are obscured. Anyone who finds anything inappropriate can alert the corporation and it will take steps to remedy it.
“We appreciate that sometimes it doesn’t work, so people can always use the link to request removal or to report a problem,” Micner said.
Earlier this year, vehicles equipped with cameras on their roofs prowled urban Canadian streets, snapping tens of thousands of photos.
Google also expanded Street View to Singapore and added cities in France and Japan on Wednesday, bringing the worldwide list to about 250. The company also added special sections for Stonehenge, Pompei, the Palace of Versailles and SeaWorld San Diego.
