Google is a company that never ceases to amaze me. Now, instead of just offering overhead satellite images within Google Maps, you can see a 360 degree view of what it would look like if you were standing on that street. This new feature is only available right now in major urban areas such as New York and San Francisco.
If you're curious how they did it, I've been told that specially equipped vans have been driving around cities worldwide for a while now, preparing for such a feature. The vans have 360 degree cameras strapped to the top, and take an image periodically as the van drives down the street. You can even see the people standing on the sidewalk when the Van drove by… I smell a challenging new variation on Where's Waldo…
If you love Google Earth, you'll have to check out this new feature in Google Maps.
Google Maps - Street View Demo