DOHA: Google will start their ‘Street View’ service in Doha soon. The company had talks recently with Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning - Geographic Information Systems Center, who is authorized to take decisions on the matter.
Anthony McLaughlin, in charge of Google "Street View" for Europe and the Middle East, visited Doha "GIS" center recently to consult with the officials of the Ministry of Municipality & Urban Planning - Geographic Information Systems Center on the possibility of signing agreement authorising the company for imaging the streets of Qatar, to be accessible through internet applications and smartphones, a ministry statement said.
Google has photographed the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha using this technique.
The "GIS" Center, in its capacity as the competent authority, has been authorized to negotiate with google and enter into an agreement on the implementation of the project, by a joint committee of several government entities. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the requirements had been signed, on the basis of which, google will acquire approvals from the concerned authorities prior to commencing the survey works on the streets of the country and production of the panoramic images.
The ministry had recently signed a similar MoU with Here, formerly known as Navteq, for producing three-dimensional (3D) images of the streets of Qatar and its buildings with laser imaging technology.
