In one of the more recent escapades from Google benignly violating your privacy for your own benefit (and that of your stalkers and the big bad world at large) they added "Street View" to their maps product. This means that in some select areas of the world - i.e. parts of US cities - you can not only get a map or satellite view of the place, but also a ground-level photograph of what the street would look like were you to be walking down it. Clever stuff.

You even can pretend you're in an extremely bad virtual reality simulator and live the life of a globetrotter from the comfort of your nice spinny office chair. But beware, whilst you're faffing around fake-walking around the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, you might also be starring in someone else's screen display.

A little like the comedic "funny things wot appear on Google maps collections" but potentially slightly more on a personal level, people are now finding and geek-collecting the funny and/or interesting shots appearing on street view. The of-course-we-don't-need-vowels streetviewr website is keeping track of plenty of these. Here's a brief smattering for your visual pleasure. Clicky to visit them at their original location.

Itchy bum

Sneaking into a porn shop

Should have gone before he set off

An alternative to banner ads?

Guide to burglary

Bring out your dead

You really wouldn't want to catch these sort of crabs.