Search for a New York address on Google Maps - like this one - and you’ll get the new “Street View” option alongside the usual Google map, aerial satellite shot and hybrid.

This nifty addition means you can see a photo of the street you’ve searched for. Drag your gliding orange figure around the map to any street highlighted with blue lines, or just click on that street, and a photo appears. Once the image has come up you can move along the photo, as if walking down the street.

It’s a handy feature for those who prefer their directions in a visual rather than mapped format, or those who want to check out the claims of a hotel’s “park views”, or perhaps you want a virtual tourist experience, by taking the ultimate carbon-free walking tour of New York without crossing the Atlantic.

Alongside New York, Google has also snapped street views in San Francisco, Miami, Denver and Las Vegas, and plans to capture European cities soon. Google isn’t the first to offer street level views – Amazon launched something similar a few years ago, but it didn't receive the attention that Google’s version has.

The photos were taken from Google vehicles as they drove through the city streets, which means everyday life has been captured by the cameras at its most fascinating and perfunctory. A man picking his nose, a sleeping tramp, someone climbing a fence, and even the Google team’s lunchtime pitstop in a drive-through MacDonalds are captured.

This intriguing catalogue has already attracted a fanbase online and bloggers have been picking out their favourite street photos, which include sun bathing students, peeping Toms and tai chi enthusiasts.

We love: the simplicity of the application and ability to switch between maps and photos; the “virtual tour” function of gliding between street photos; the opportunity to check out hotels and restaurants instead of relying on glossy promotional photos

We hate: some photos are a bit blurry

Verdict

Design: 9/10

Navigation: 9/10

Content: 7/10

Fulfilment: 6/10

Overall score: 31/40

Times recommends

• Dubai cheaper than Doncaster as room rates tumble
• World Cup 2010 - how to follow England
• Copenhagen: Europe's greenest city