Google Street View now in 50 different countries !

Google Street View is now snapping panoramic pictures in 50 countries around the world with the inclusion of Hungary and Lesotho, the update pushed today being the largest single one so far.

According to the Google Lat Long blog, alongside the inclusion of Hungary and Lesotho, the service has significantly expanded its coverage of Romania and Poland, together with other interesting locations. The update, which is the largest single one so far (bigger than the one in October), includes and updated imagery of an incredible 350,000 miles of roads, in 14 countries. The good Google Street View news doesn’t stop here, as Google says that coverage has also been added and expanded for France, Italy, Russia, Singapore and Thailand.A Google Street View image of the Hungarian Parliament building.

With the addition of Hungary, though, “you can take a virtual stroll through the historic center of Budapest, right along the Danube (the river that carves the city in two). See the Hungarian Parliament building or the famous Chain bridge,” Google said.

Other points of interest in Hungary mapped by Google include the Széchenyi thermal bath, the largest medicinal bath in Europe, as well as Buda castle.

Lesotho, meanwhile, “an enclave surrounded by South Africa, is the only independent state that sits entirely 1,000m or more above sea level,” Google said. “Explore some of the mountainous imagery captured by our Street View cars, including the winding roads and lakes.”

Google launched Street View in 2007 with five U.S. cities, and users can now navigate more than 5 million miles of the world, including all seven continents and under the ocean.

The program is not without controversy, however. Some countries have expressed concern about the privacy of its residents, including Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. In the U.S., a family also sued when their home showed up online.

In 2011, Google landed in hot water when it was revealed that equipment attached to its Street View cars was accidentally collecting personally identifiable data traveling over unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. The search giant has spent the last two years working with various data protection agencies to rectify the problem, most recently receiving a $189,000 fine from Germany officials.

INSTANT GOOGLE STREET VIEW :  http://qsview.com/2miylrz3gs1iwz40xzr5z2u