Taiwan was the eighth-most searched country on Google’s Street View over the past 12 months, the US technology company said on Tuesday.
Google last week marked the 15th anniversary of its map service, which allows users to view street-level images.
Data from May last year to last month showed that Taiwan and Taipei both ranked eighth among the most searched countries and cities respectively, Google said in an article posted on its blog related to services in Taiwan.
Indonesia was the most-searched country during the period, followed by the US, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Italy, while the most search city was Jakarta, followed by Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, New York and Istanbul, Google said.
Following the launch of Street View in 2007, which at first covered only five US cities, Google began taking pictures along the streets in Taiwan in 2008, before the service was expanded to cover Taipei in 2009, the company said.
To mark the anniversary, Google said it is expanding a Street View feature called Time Machine, which can be used on desktop computers and mobile devices using Android or iOS operating systems.
First introduced in 2014, the feature provides users with past images of a spot taken at different times, so they can “travel back in time” to as early as 2007, Google said.
The company also published a list of the 25 most-searched Street View spots in Taiwan, with two 7-Eleven stores — in Changhua County’s Lukang Township (鹿港) and Taitung County’s Dawu Township (大武) — taking the top and fifth places respectively.
Other popular spots on the list include the Baishatun Gongtian Temple in Miaoli County (6th), Taipei 101 (17th), Hanshin Arena Shopping Plaza in Kaohsiung (20th) and the Fuzhong MRT station in New Taipei City (25th).
The most searched places in Taiwan also include railway stations in Taichung (3rd), Taoyuan (9th), Hsinchu (11th), Kaohsiung (12th), Jhongli (13th), Tainan (16th) and Taipei Main Station (24th).
Globally, the most searched spot was the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, followed by the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Taj Mahal in India, Google said.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS