Google has confirmed Lesotho as the third country in Africa to be included in its Street View service, taking the number of countries featured past 50.
The company said the inclusion of Lesotho “adds another stepping stone to Google’s contribution to the advancement of mapping in Africa”, with South Africa and Botswana already included.
“Since its debut in 2007, the Google Maps Street View feature has enabled people around the world to continue exploring stunning 360-degree panoramic imagery of interesting and exotic places from the Kalahari to Kilimanjaro,” Google said in a blog post.
HumanIPO reported earlier this month Google’s improvements to its Maps service specifically aimed at Africa, which include many more detailed maps for more countries on the continent and inclusion of some popular business locations.
Google Maps for Africa has gone from basic maps of major roads to detailed maps in many African countries, cities and towns, these maps have since evolved to include local domains, driving and walking directions, traffic information, Street View imagery in South Africa and Botswana, and turn by turn GPS navigation in South Africa, Algeria and Tunisia.
Street View has caused some controversy in Africa, however, with Google forced to deny killing a Botswanan donkey after an image of a prone animal appeared online.
“Our Street View teams take the safety of people and donkeys very seriously,” a Google spokesperson told news.com.au. “A review of our imagery confirms that we did not cause any harm to the donkey.”
