Google today announced that it will begin imagery collection in South Africa for the Street View feature in its Google Maps.
Street View allows users to virtually explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level images.
In the coming weeks Google will begin driving around South Africa and taking photographs of locations, including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Durban.
In areas where Street View is available you can access street-level imagery by zooming into the lowest level on Google Maps, or by dragging the orange "Pegman" icon on the left-hand side of the map onto a blue highlighted street. You can check out a restaurant before arriving, make travel plans, arrange meeting points, or get a helping hand with geography homework.
Businesses can also benefit from the Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their site for free, helping them to promote a chain of hotels or raise awareness about a local library or restaurant.
Commenting on the initiative, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, the Minister of Tourism said, "The internet is a remarkably rich resource for raising awareness about South Africa - our people, our cities and our environment.
"Street View is going to make South Africa more accessible both to locals and to international visitors. It will give tourists a taste of the variety that the country offers, and a chance to research their holidays in advance, all with the click of a mouse.
"Ahead of the World Cup, we're pleased to have Google bringing us some of their most innovative technology so that we can showcase South Africa to the world."
For more information on Street View, visit Google.co.za.
