Google will be extending its street view operations in Malta until the end of November to complete the imagery collection for its popular Street View feature. 

Street View is a popular feature of Google Maps which was launched in May 2007 and is currently available across 77 countries. It allows users to virtually explore and navigate a neighbourhood through panoramic street-level images.

In the last six weeks, the Street View car drove 1,500 km across the central and south-eastern parts of Malta and all around Gozo, taking 360 degrees pics of many locations, including heritage and touristic attractions, from Valletta to Victoria. It was meant to run until the end of October. 

In the next weeks, the Street View car will complete its drive through the southern and northern areas of the island. Operations will be concluded by the end of November.

... And Gozo.

Detailed updates on Street View car locations as well as general information about Street View will be provided by clicking here.

Images collected will be processed and carefully stitched together, a technological process that can take several months. Users will be able to explore the imagery at a later date on Google Maps.

The service has stirred issues of privacy in some countries. Last June, India's interior ministry said it had rejected an application from the tech giant citing security concerns. In 2009, hundreds of pictures from the UK's Google's then new Street View service have been removed after concerns were voiced about invasion of privacy.

Google applies state-of-the-art technology to help identify and blur individual faces and licence plates on any imagery before it is made public. Once Street View imagery is available online, users can ask for further blurring.