Google Street View for Sarawak and Sabah has gone live, with 80% of all public roads in the two states mapped.
Google said it now considered its mapping service for Malaysia complete, although new roads were still constantly being recorded while modified routes were refreshed periodically.
For Peninsular Malaysia, about 90% of public roads are available in Street View.
Google Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines & Emerging Markets managing director Sajith Sivanandan said the availability of Street View in Sabah and Sarawak for the first time made Google Maps more useful, comprehensive and enjoyable for those interested in discovering the two states.
“Covering east Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak) took roughly six months with cars packed with cameras, lasers and GPS devices.
“For trekkers mounted on hikers and climbers, each unit contained 15 lenses at the top of a mast and weighed almost 20kg,” he said during the launch yesterday.
Sivanandan said its services helped businesses get discovered.
“Roughly one in five desktop searches is about location. For mobile services, it is even higher at one in three.
“In Malaysia, where mobile Internet penetration is so high, it is safe to assume that the majority of users enjoy using Google Maps,” he added.
For Sarawak, Google has also uploaded panoramic views of the state’s Mulu National Park, a Unesco world heritage site.
Google considers its Mulu Street View as part of its Malaysian Special Collection, which includes Taman Negara, Pangkor and Langkawi.
Sarawak’s Assistant Tourism Minister Datuk Gramong Juna said he was excited to see how technology could change people’s lives.
