Google today announced the launch of its Street View feature in Ireland, allowing users to virtually explore cities, towns and countryside through street-level imagery.
The internet search giant said 51,000 miles of road have been driven by Google to collect imagery.
Ireland is the 25th country to launch Street View.
The move was welcomed by Tourism Minister Mary Hanafin.
“Street View is an example of a practical innovation which makes life easier for people using the Internet to locate and research Ireland’s cities, towns and streets," she said. I
"Street View will showcase the real beauty of Ireland’s towns and countryside to millions of internet users around the world and has the potential to deliver a welcome boost to visitor numbers to Ireland."
Google said it has gone to great lengths to safeguard privacy amid concerns in other countries.
"Any user can easily flag images for removal that he or she considers inappropriate by clicking on ‘report a problem’," the company said.
"Street View also features technology that automatically blurs both faces and licence plates."
"We worked closely with Google to ensure that any privacy concerns that people might have were addressed in advance of the launch date," said Gary Davis, Deputy Data Protection Commissioner.
"Where blurring is insufficient or where people wish to remove other information associated with them - including images of their houses - Google has provided an easy-to-use removal tool."