Google has launched its ground-level mapping service in the world’s most barren continent – Antarctica.
The move will allow Google users to navigate around the snow-capped mountains, coastline and icebergs of Antarctica – a place that few people ever get to visit in person.
They will also be able to spot several penguin colonies captured by Google’s cameras.
The expansion to Antarctica means that Street View is now present on every one of the world’s seven continents.
Brian McClendon, the vice-president of engineering at Google Earth and Maps, announced Street View’s expansion. The service covers 25 countries on all of the world’s continents, and is also this week launching in Ireland and Brazil.
“We often consider Street View to be the last zoom layer on the map,” said Mr McClendon. “And a way to show you what a place looks like as if you were there in person, whether you’re checking out a coffee shop across town or planning a vacation across the globe.”
On the company’s blog yesterday, he wrote: “We hope this new imagery will help people in Ireland, Brazil, and even the penguins of Antarctica to navigate nearby, as well as enable people around the world to learn more about these areas.”
Google Street View launched in 2007, allowing users to zoom in on daytime photographs of individual locations or properties, and navigate virtual streets at ground level.
