Popular search engine, Google, has introduced the first Street View imagery of Bangladesh on its maps. Bangladesh is the 65th country to come online through Street View across the world.
Google also introduced the Street View Trekker, a wearable backpack camera system, in Bangladesh, designed to capture 360-degree photographs of important places.
The Street View Trekker will allow Google to help capture more off-road sites of the country and make these easily accessible for everyone to experience virtual visit.
The newly-introduced Street View allows anyone with an internet connection to view 360-degree panoramas of public roads within Dhaka and Chittagong, and 42 notable sites of the country. Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader formally launched Thursday the visual Google Maps.
Civil Aviation and Tourism Secretary Khorshed Alam Chowdhury, USAID Mission Director in Bangladesh Janina Jaruzelski, Director of the Access to Information (a2i) programme under the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) Kabir Anwar, Policy Adviser Anir Chowdhury and Public Policy Director, Google Asia Pacific, Ann Lavin, among others, spoke the launching event.
Speaking at the inaugural event, Obaidul Quader said through the launch of the maps, the country has achieved another milestone in the information and communication technology sector.
"With Vision 2021 Digital Bangladesh, the government is striving to bring positive changes to each sector and the society in general, as well as the delivery of government services through increased deployment of ICT technologies," he noted.
The Google officials said in areas where Street View is available, the imagery can be accessed by dragging the orange "Pegman" icon on the bottom right-hand side of the map over and into a blue highlighted road.
Anne Lavin said businesses in Bangladesh can also reap benefits from the Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their sites.
"Hotels in Dhaka, for example, can easily show their prospective guests what the building looks and also provide them with a sense of the surrounding neighbourhood," she added.
In the Google Maps for mobile app on Android and iOS, people can also search for local destinations and where available, access Street View imagery directly from the search results.
The official said it will show Bangladesh to the world from a fresh perspective. From showcasing bustling roads in Dhaka to the some of the country's most well known mosques, temples, viharas and churches, Street View can help raise awareness of the country as an emerging destination for the tourists.
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expanded to include cities and rural areas worldwide.
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