Google said Tuesday that it has expanded its Street View technology to include more parks, including Kensington Gardens in London and the High Line in New York City.
The parks were scouted with the so-called Street View tricycle, which, like the cars that Google uses to map the streets of various countries with its Street View, contain a camera that can take pictures across 360 degrees. Uses can then visit Google Maps and virtually tour the street or the park.
Google selected six to show off in its gallery: High Line Park in New York City: Liberty Park in New York City; Kensington Gardens in London; Koganei Park in Tokyo; Knuthenborg Safari Park in Denmark; and Casa de Campo Parque, oin Madrid, Spain.
Google's implementation isn't perfect, however. Clicking the Knuthenborg link in the gallery takes users to the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. And Google's trike wasn't able to map quite all of the paths in Kensington Gardens - which is just nitpicking, really. For someone who may never visit Spain or Denmark for the next decade or so, Google Street View is an ideal way to virtually sightsee another country.
As it has done before, Google has blurred out the faces of passersby. It will also do the same to license plates, but that's less of a problem in the parks that are part of the Street View update.
Google also said last week that it is taking its Street View program indoors. A pilot program started in April 2010 and back in May, Google announced plans for 360-degree Business Photos, a program that would send Google photographers to various businesses to snap professional photos for their Places Page.