Google Maps brings Street View to the highways and byways of Chile and Croatia

Google has announced today that it is introducing Street View imagery of Chile and Croatia to its Maps service.

As ever, the photographic view at ground level is interesting to tourists and locals who are curious about their possible travel destinations or neighbourhoods.

Three Chilean cities have been scoped in Street View; Concepción, Santiago and Valparaíso. Last January, we had reported that the service would soon launch in the country, and readers had spotted the service’s cars many times over the last few months.

As for Croatia, it fares a little better for coverage with many more towns and cities available including Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik.

In a blog post by Ulf Spitzer, Program Manager, Google Maps, one of the highlights is Assumption Cathedral in Dubrovnik. Clicking through to the Maps page, the usual tourism ads and search options are apparent and the images not only show the edifice but also the tourists visiting on what looks like a sunny day.

It’s pretty neat to zoom around and take a closer look at sites you have yet to visit or hope to return to. Though some will argue that Street View is intrusive, it is also a valuable resource for learning more about the world.

Since its launch in 2007, Google Maps has captured imagery from more than 3,000 cities in 40 countries around the world. Not only is Google recording on land though, Maps are now going under water as the search giant partnered with The Catlin Seaview Survey to collect images of the world’s oceans.

Where next for the Earth-capturing cameras? Is there a place left on the planet that you wish you could explore virtually?