ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Google has launched its Street View map service in Greece after winning approval from the privacy authority that blocked the ground-level map application five years ago.
In 2009, Greece blocked Google Street View from acquiring new images within the country until the company provided more guarantees on privacy.
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After "extensive and detailed" negotiations with the country's Data Protection Authority, which last year lifted objections made to the project years ago, Google officials said the service went live Thursday.
Culture Minister Panos Panagiotopoulos attended a launch event in central Athens and said the map service would help the crisis-hit country's vital tourism industry, describing Greece as an "endless archaeological park."
Google was allowed to gather photos for Street View while waiting for formal approval to start the service, and had been permitted to display cultural sites on a related service.
