After the last few postings it must be time to have a bit of fun!! Luckily Google Earth has just added a new feature, Street View.

To enjoy it you will need to have the latest version installed (v5.0.xx) so nip over to the [1] Google Earth site to download it. You’ll also see that there are lots of other new things included (or buttons making them obvious anyway).

Once you’ve installed the latest version open it as normal and then look at the “Layers” panel down at the bottom left. It’s full of little boxes, some have ticks in them, others have little blue boxes and others have absolutely nothing in.

To use Street View you need to find the box marked (surprise surprise) “Street View” - it has a little yellow person next to it. Put a tick in the box by clicking on the box with the mouse and a little circle of flashing dots will show for a time. Everytime Google Earth refreshes the list of Street Views, this circle of dots will show again, so don’t worry if it flashes now and again.

Now, as we all know that Yorkshire is the centre of the Universe and York is the capital type “York” (without the “”) and then press the “Enter” key on your keyboard. Once you have “flown” to the City of York you’ll you’ll see lots of little camera shapes scattered all over. If you then zoom in they will increase in numbers and, eventually, change to a globe.

Click on one of these globes (or the camera if you can’t be bothered to zoom right in) and hey presto, you get a view of the local area.

Now, up at the top right corner there is a little window with a box in it. Move the box with your mouse (hold the left button down) and the main image moves!

In the main image there will be a line (or 2 or 3) of cameras. Click on one of those and you can travel around York!

When you’ve finished (or want to return to the normal Google Earth) click on the “Exit Photo” box in the top right of the main screen.

Facncy more? Then look at the top of the actual image area of Google Earth - yes the row of buttons.

Find the button with a little clock. If you click on that a slider scale opens. Move it left to right and you’ll get a historical view of the place you are looking a, usually back to 2002/3. Amazing what building has gone on in some places! Click the clock button again to close the slider.

Fancy going further afield? Click the button with a little yellow planet, it’ll drop down with three choices. Click on Mars and you can go to where no man has walked before!Open the drop down again and click on Earth to return home.

If that isn’t enough, try putting ticks in some of the boxes in the Layers panel (bottom left).  That will keep you happy for hours! Have fun.