Florida's beaches to appear on Google Street View

Florida's 825 miles of beach are set to be available on Google's Street View from 1 March 2014.

Google has trained a team of Visit Florida staff to use Google's Street View Trekker technology to capture images of the Sunshine State's beaches, making it the first large-scale beach mapping project. The project to record every stretch of sand has taken four months; trekkers fitted with cameras walked the beaches, recording what they saw.

The Street View camera's 15 lenses capture images every 2.5 seconds. these images are then stitched together to create the panoramas that internet browsers have become accustomed to seeing. As of March next year, people will be able to to explore the coast from their computer, with the ability to zoom in and out and move around the images.

Paul Phipps, chief marketing officer for Visit Florida said, 'When you're planning a holiday, if you've never been to the beach areas, this will enable you to see the beaches in realtime, and how Pensacola is different to Naples, which is different to the Keys.'

He added that, 'Google is the number one search for travel so it is advantageous for us to be a strategic partner. They have done the Grand Canyon but this is the first time you will be able to see every mile of beach in Florida.'

Tourism is Florida's top industry, accounting for more than 90 million visitors every year.