Villagers in the upscale U.K. town chased away a car used by Google to collect images and data for its Street View service .

Google's Street View, initially launched in 2007, is a combination of Google Maps and Google Earth that gives users both horizontal and vertical panoramic views of streets in various cities. Since its launch Google has also added the service to its Maps application on Apple's iPhone and to the Microsoft Windows Mobile version of Google Maps.

Street View photos are taken by a fleet of cars in several countries, including Japan, Italy, France and, just this month, the Netherlands and the U.K. London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow, Belfast, Amsterdam and Rotterdam are some of the cities that have been added to Street View.

Google captures images by mounting a camera on its cars. In the United States, Google uses Chevrolet Cobalts, and in the United Kingdom it uses Vauxhall Astras. When an area cannot be accessed by car, Google uses bikes.

Privacy vs. Interest

Since its launch, Google's Street View service has been met with complaints of privacy. Views have been found to show individuals picking up prostitutes and leaving strip clubs, sunbathers in bikinis, and protesters at abortion clinics.

While Google maintains that all the views are taken in public areas, some people don't want their activities to be seen publicly. Google has received hundreds of requests to remove images, and the company said it has complied.

"Blurring technology and operational controls like image removal are among the ways in which we ensure that an individual's privacy is respected," Google says on its Web site. "We make it easy for users to ask to have photographs of themselves, their children, their cars, or their houses completely removed from the product, even where the images have already been blurred."

Despite the issues with privacy in the U.K., Google's Street View is proving to be a popular tool. Following its launch in the U.K. on March 19, U.K. visits to Google Maps increased 41 percent, according to Hitwise Intelligence.

"This was the busiest ever day for Google Maps in the U.K., and as a result the site received its highest-ever ranking, becoming the 20th most visited site overall," said Robin Goad, a research director at Hitwise U.K.

Google Maps U.K. received one in every 250 U.K. Internet visits on March 19, while the U.S. Google Maps also had an 84 percent increase in visits.

Legal Rights

Google has been dragged into court on various complaints of intrusion of privacy. One couple sued Google, claiming the Street View of their home brought the property value down. That couple lost their fight.

Others, including, the City of North Oaks, Minn., have won. North Oaks roads are privately owned by its residents and a city ordinance protects the citizens from companies such as Google, who are considered to be trespassing on private property.

"We are committed to respecting local laws and norms in each country in which we launch Street View," Google says on its Web site.