Surely the next step for this technology is just to blur the ugly people.

Pah! Due to their continued use of ancient map data for my corner of Switzerland, my whole street - now 11 years old - fails to appear on either their 2D or satelite maps, so I can probably forget about them needing to blur my face for another quarter century or so.

I was captured by one of their cars in London (with the TXi logo on) outside work having a crafty ciggie. I'm tall, have long hair and was stood outside my office.

If some of the people I've lied to about giving up smoking (parents) were to check my office on streetview, it would be pretty obvious that it was me still.

Will they also blur the face of my kitty that's sitting in the window? Animals are people too!

More reasonably, you want your expensive/attractive stuff to be hidden from view, so blurring should also apply to flat screen tv's etc, but then presence of blurring shows interesting thing to be there.

I hear from that arrested pedophile that blurring can be undone? Oh no, that was the swirl-blurring, maybe not this type.

Two phrases you don't often see in the same article:

"state-of-the-art automatic face detection" and "stricter privacy safeguards"

Mine's the tin foil donkey jacket.

That explains what happened to Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope. I bet the little green men wanted their privacy :)

"We've always said Street View will respect local laws..."

Obviously not the ones about driving over a pedestrian crossing while there are people on it.

I have a right to privacy! If i'm walking down the street in a busy city I insist that everybody close their eyes and respect my RIGHT to walk down the street without being looked at.

Have you *been* to New York? Let's not get carried away, here!

What, that village next to Shiremoor?

I'd prefer it is Google put happy smiley faces on everyone caught on camera!!

Google is too arrogant, they will go down soon ...

Advanced face recognition ? whats advanced in that .. it was long long used ... i guess they should stick to search and stop trying to do everything, they dont know anything.