Umm Al Quwain now available on Street View

Internet users in the UAE, regionally and globally can now browse through major streets, roads and attractions in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain

March 22nd, Dubai, UAE - Google today announced the arrival of Umm Al Quwain in Street View, a feature by Google Maps that will allow users to view and navigate 360 degree street-level imagery of major streets across the city.

Street View was launched in May 2007 and is already available in more than 3000 cities across 63 countries around the world. Google Street View imagery provides users with a rich, immersive browsing experience and allows users to explore world landmarks, view natural wonders, navigate a trip or other points of interest.

Some of the main areas Street View users will be able to see in Umm Al Quwain today are: the city’s Beach Garden, the Old Town Area, the Umm Al Quwain National Museum, and the abandoned Soviet-era cargo plane, Ilyushin IL-76.  

Mohamad Mourad, Regional Director for Google in Middle East and North Africa, said: “Google Street View will allow millions of people from around the world to see Umm Al Quwain in a new way ----to see and experience useful and beautiful 360-degree imagery of the city’s most exciting sites and streets. Wherever we have launched Street View, we have seen a positive response, and we believe that people and businesses in the UAE and across the world can benefit on many levels from having this imagery available.”

Obaid Sultan, General Manager of Urban Planning in Umm Al Quwain, said: “This project with Google will enable the city’s residents and visitors to browse through accurate panoramic imagery of Umm Al Quwain’s streets, heritage sites, and tourist attractions.” 

Street View Process
Street View imagery is gathered by a vehicle equipped with advanced imaging technology--- a camera mounted on the roof of a car that collects imagery and location data. After collection, the imagery is stitched together to create the 360° panoramic images that allows you to move around and explore locations as if you were there. To protect the privacy of residents in Umm Al Quwain, all faces and plate numbers are blurred before the imagery goes live.

Benefits for users
Google wants to make the everyday lives of users easy whether it was previewing the location before moving into a new neighborhood or discovering the location of a restaurant or cafe.  Users can check out a restaurant or hotels before arriving or arrange meeting points. House hunters can save time not only by exploring properties they are interested in but also their surrounding area in advance which will make selection of property they are interested in more efficient.

Benefits for businesses
Businesses can also benefit from the Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their site, helping them to promote a hotel or increase awareness of a local store or restaurant. Tourists will instantly be able to check the surroundings of a hotel without taking a risk.

Google is constantly improving its maps with tens of thousands of updates everyday throughout the world - from the latest road names, business addresses to public transit schedules and photos. Street View  provides easily accessible tools for flagging inappropriate or sensitive imagery for review and removal. Each image contains a link to a “Report a problem” tool where users can report objectionable images.