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Google spy car gets villagers-with-torches treatment

Those not living under rocks have probably heard of Street View, Google Inc.'s site which details with digital photography the, um, view from the street when the user clicks on a map.

Google's black cars prowl streets around the world, generally unmolested, documenting the sights. Not all are comfortable with the privacy implications, but few do more than turn away.

Not so the villagers of Broughton, in Buckinghamshire, U.K. One Paul Jacobs saw the vehicle photographing his house and was scandalized. He confronted the driver and, before you could say “Don't be evil,” a human chain of neighbours was blocking the road. The Street View photographers beat a hasty retreat.

It's surprising this doesn't happen more often, since Street View prowls some American 'hoods they're lucky to get out of with all four fenders and wheels.

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