Your house is on the web after Google Street View launch

Athlone can now be explored in a completely new way following the unveiling of Google's Street View service for Ireland. Launched last Thursday, Street View uses digital photography taken last year to create a panoramic map of the country, including Athlone and its surrounds. Users can zone in on a particular area, where good-quality imagery allows them to simulate the experience of walking or driving down the street. Questions have been raised about the privacy implications of a service which means that, whether you live in the centre of Athlone, its outskirts, or other local areas such as Monksland, Glasson or Moate, panoramic images of your home can probably be seen by internet users anywhere in the world. However Google has defended the service, stating: "Street View contains imagery that is no different from what you might see driving or walking down the street." It pointed out that the faces of pedestrians and the registration plates of vehicles appearing in Street View images are blurred. The company also said that people could request the removal of certain images, including those featuring themselves, their family, their car or their home. In March 2009, Google announced that Street View, which is used in the Google Maps and Google Earth applications, would be expanded to include locations in Ireland. This process began with the photographing of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Waterford and Limerick, and the Google Street View Car was then spotted in Athlone in April of last year. The time that has lapsed since then is sometimes evident. Some local businesses which have since closed or changed hands are shown. The Roseland Recording Studios in Moate can also be seen in an image taken just months before the building was destroyed by a fire.