Google Maps has launched a new feature to their Street View service. It now offers panoramic virtual scuba trips through 6 reef areas, namely Heron, Lady Elliot and Wilson Islands at the Great Barrier Reef, Molokini Crater and Hanauma Bay in Hawaii and the Apo Islands in the Philippines. The underwater filming has been carried out by the Catlin Seaview Survey using a submersible fitted with three wide-angle lenses designed to take high-resolution images in low light conditions.This took a 24-megapixel photograph from each lens once every four seconds to provide 360-degree views, as the rig moved over the reef at about 2-3kmh (1-2mph).

The new imagery is available via the Street View feature of Google Maps or via the Street view Gallery.