Google Trike coming to the UK

Google has developed the Google Trike, a tricycle mounted with cameras, to capture Britain's most scenic spots for its mapping service Street View.

The Trike, similar to the Street View cars but on three wheels instead of four, is equipped with the same cameras Google used to photograph British cities.

The Trikes will be used to get to locations not accessible by cars such as national parks, castles and cliffs. Each Trike will be staffed by a Google cyclist.

Google Street View: first look

Ahead of the Trikes' jaunt around Britain, Google UK has teamed up with Visit Britain to launch an online poll to find which landmarks and scenic spots should be first included on Street View.

The five categories included in the poll are Castles, Coastal Paths, Natural Wonders, Historic Buildings & Monuments and Sports Stadiums.

"The trike is designed to go down footpaths and tracks to get images of areas of natural beauty or tourist sites," a Google spokeswoman said.

"The trike will be here in UK for just a short while in the summer so in order to pick the very best spots we're asking the public to get involved and tell us where they want us to go."

The Trike will start out in Genoa, Italy before coming to the UK this summer.

Google Street View hit two major glitches last week when it was barred from photographing in Greece and forced to re-shoot all its images in Japan.