Google Street View launches in France

GOOGLE has launched its Street View application for six French cities.

The streets of Paris, Lyon, Lille, Toulouse, Marseille and Nice have been photographed in such a way that online visitors can get a 'person's eye view' of walking through the city.

After a trial during the Tour de France earlier this year, the data protection agency Cnil raised questions as to whether the programme invaded privacy.

The streets are mapped by vehicles with special cameras that tour the cities taking photographs to produce a near 360 degree picture of the location.

Cnil dropped complaints after Google agreed to blur the faces of people and number plates snapped during the photograph sessions.

You can access the service by using Google Maps and clicking on the Street View option.