Google Street View car spotted in Singapore

John Chan | Oct 03, 2008

For their privacy, we have blurred out the faces and license plates in this photo. Google will be doing the same.

Take note, you heard it first from CNET Asia--Street View for the Google Maps service is coming to Singapore. An eagle-eyed CNET Asia reader sent us a picture of this silver Opel Astra complete with cameras doubling its height and the Google logo pasted on the side door. This was spotted at the junction between Dorset Road and Kampong Java Road.

We contacted Google and the search giant confirmed that this service will be coming to Google Maps Singapore in the coming months. The island-state will be the first in Southeast Asia to get this service though the company did not say when and which other countries will be indexed by Street View as well.

For those not familiar with Street View, this feature of Google Maps gives the user a photographic view of the location being searched, with the intention of providing a better idea of where he or she wants to be at. It has attracted controversy in many countries with some residents of Street View-enabled cities complaining of loss of privacy. In some cases, men have been caught leaving places like strip joints or picking up prostitutes while others have been captured while inside their own private property. To address these concerns, Google will be blurring out faces and license plate numbers before uploading the images. Tools for users and authorities to report on images they are uncomfortable about will also be put in place, similar to what the company has done in the US, Australia, Japan and France.

In any case, watch what you do or where you go--Google is watching.

Photo credit: Andrew

Filed under: PC & Peripherals
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MapsRus

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MapsRus says...
It is good to see that Google is using the high resolution cameras in Singapore! I can't wait to see the interesting sightings that will surface once this data comes online! Take a look at the differences in camera resolutions between Japan and France:

streetviewgallery.corank.com

Oct 03, 2008 21:35

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compguy

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compguy says...
Thanks to the eagle-eyed CNET Asia reader who took pic of the Google car. Would be nice if we can have a collection of images of the Google car as it took pics of Singapore - can add them to Google Maps.

Oct 13, 2008 14:20

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