photo: PR
Street View allows a virtual, street-level tour of any of the four cities in Poland hosting Euro 2012 – Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan and Wroclaw.
A panorama of tourist attractions can also be viewed including the Hel peninsula, the Market Square in Krakow, Malbork Castle, or take a trip down Poland's longest street, Piotrowska, in the city of Lodz.
The places and cities were chosen through an online poll.
“A year ago we asked the Poles to show us the places that we should show on Street View.,” says Artur Waliszewski, director of Google Polska.
"The internet response was great. I am pleased to say that today we are able to show street view photos of the places and cities that topped the final poll, and many other interesting places worth showing to the world,” he added.
One of the best cities mapped is the capital, Warsaw.
“Warsaw Street View will help our guests find themselves in the city, and those still undecided could be encouraged to explore Warsaw,” says deputy mayor Michał Olszewski.
In Olszewski's opinion, every city wants to increase its online presence and develop accurate localization services. He added that Street View is an opportunity to raise awareness about the city for both locals and tourists alike.
Privacy
The service has raised a lot of controversy, however.
Its opponents accuse Google of violating privacy.
For example, Google had to suspend photographing in the Czech Republic in 2010 for over half a year as the company and Czech government were locked in negotiations. The Google cars started driving again last year with the camera lowered by 30 centimetres due to the privacy concerns.
Google Polska's Artur Waliszewski says that everything has been done according to law. He said that Google only photographs public places, and people's faces and car registration numbers are covered up by a special system.
Waliszewski acknowledges however that there may be a situation in which the computer system has not to covered up someone's image, and such cases may be reported to the administrator, and the images will be removed from the site. (pg)