Google street view: 360 degree views from any point on the map.

You've got to hand it to Google, they keep coming out with big ideas and amazing us with great execution. Our jaws dropped this morning with the release of Street View, an immersive addition to Google Earth and Google Maps that lets you virtually walk around a number of major U.S. cities with a 360 degree view every ten metres or so down each street. Thanks Google, you just saved me a fortune in travel.

Check it out: Google's new street view feature, announced yesterday, currently covers the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Las Vegas, Denver and Miami but will be expanded in the future. You simply click on the "Street View" button while looking at a close-up street map of an included area, and position your little character where you want to see the view from.

Google seem to have deployed a car with a 360 degree camera to take shots every ten metres or so up and down every street in these cities. As you look around in the picture, you can "walk" to the next photo point. It even tells you the rough address where you're standing. Virtual tourism... Paris and Prague next please guys!