AMHERST - Can you find your house?
It's a question many Internet-savvy people will be asking as they look for their home on Google Street View, which has added Amherst and 130 other communities across the country.
"We are hugely excited to make so much of Canada visible to the world-from the coasts of Newfoundland to the slopes of Whistler Mountain," Jonathan Lister, managing director and head of Google Canada, said in a news release Tuesday. "Street View in Google Maps is about showing people places they might never otherwise experience, and helping them plan journeys, so we hope it will continue to help boost tourism, heritage, real estate, education, and everyday discovery."
The Google Street View vehicle was in Cumberland County in August capturing images for the cityblock project.
Tuesday's launch contains all remaining Street View imagery captured in Canada in 2009, including the Trans-Canada Highway, so that people can plan or visualize road trips across the country.
Google updates Street View imagery globally on an ongoing basis and works to add imagery of new places, such as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Street View is a free feature in Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Maps for mobile. First launched in 2007, it now includes imagery from 18 countries.
To start exploring, go to maps.google.ca and zoom in to the lowest level or drag the orange Pegman icon from the left side of the map on to a blue-lined street.
Google has gone to great lengths to ensure Canadians' privacy while enabling them to benefit from Street View on Google Maps.
The feature only contains imagery visible from public roads and blurs identifiable faces and licence plates.
In addition, users can easily flag for removal images that they consider sensitive or inappropriate by clicking on the report-a-problem link at the bottom of any image.
Google has consulted with Canada's federal and provincial Privacy Commissioners in developing Street View and its privacy safeguards.
