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Pentagon asks Google to drops maps

Google has complied with a request by the Pentagon to remove some online images from its street-level map service because they pose a security threat to US military bases, military and company officials said on Thursday.

The US Defense Department has also barred Google map-making teams from making detailed street-level video maps of US military bases after images of a Texas base ended up on the popular Internet site.

General Gene Renuart, head of the military command responsible for homeland defense, said the Pentagon had talked to Google about the risks and expected the company to cooperate in removing selected images from its Street View service.

"We have been contacted by the military," Google spokesman Larry Yu said. "In those instances where they [the US military] have expressed concerns about the imagery, we have accommodated their requests."

A message sent to all Defense Department bases and installations around the country late last week told officials not to allow the mapping Web site from taking panoramic views inside the facilities. Google said taking such pictures is against its policy, and the incident was a mistake.

Renuart, chief of the US Northern Command, said on Thursday that that the decision to issue a formal ban was made after at least one Google crew requested and then was permitted access to a base. He said he was concerned that allowing the 360o, street-level view could provide sensitive information to potential adversaries and endanger base personnel.

It is a worry, he said, because such views can show "where all the guards are, it shows how the barriers go up and down, it shows how to get in and out of buildings, and I think that poses a real security risk to our military installations."

Yu said a Google crew mistakenly asked for access to a base, and base officials agreed.

"It is against our policy to request access to military bases for the purpose of capturing imagery in Street View," he said, adding that when Google was contacted about the issue, the imagery was taken off the site within about 24 hours.

According to the message sent by US Northern Commandy, Google representatives requested access to Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

Street View, a feature of Google Maps, offers ground-level, 360o views of streets in 30 US cities. Web users are able to drive down a street, in a virtual sense, using their mouse to adjust views of roadside scenery.

The feature has become a popular service for drivers seeking to plan a trip to an unfamiliar neighborhoods. But from the outset, Street View has been a magnet of controversy over potential privacy invasion of people captured in the images.

In one instance, a man was pictured exiting a San Francisco strip club. In another case, a woman was shown sunbathing. Complaints have even included a woman asking that a picture of her cat be taken down, a request Google denied.

Street View has yet to be introduced outside the US. Web-based Google Maps and a related service called Google Earth have drawn criticism from a variety of countries for providing images of sensitive locations, such as military bases or potential targets of terror attacks.

The services rely on civilian versions of satellite maps that it licenses from commercial mapping services.
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