By Peter Sayer
May 9, 2008

Google has begun scanning the streets of Paris to gather data for its Street View service, which adds street-level photography to the satellite views offered by Google Maps. The search company will gather a wealth of data from the project but, thanks to France's strict privacy laws, it may also pick up a few lawsuits on the way if it chooses to publish the photos unedited.

Two Google employees were spotted on the Western outskirts of Paris on Friday as they mounted a sophisticated array of cameras and laser scanners on the roof rack of their black Opel Astra. The equipment was connected to a Dell computer visible inside the car. Although the vehicle was unmarked, the driver and passenger said they worked for Google.

Similar vehicles, some of them bearing the Google Street View logo, have been spotted in other European cities in recent weeks, indicating that Google is gathering data on a massive scale in preparation for the launch of the service in Europe. But as the company offers global access to its most popular services, it will also have to think about local legislation and culture.

The sun is out in Paris and the streets in front of the capital's cafes are already packed with Parisians, so Google's cars are bound to catch a few of them on camera. Yet in France, citizens have a droit a l'image, the right to their own image. Pictures identifying them as they go about their private business may not be published without their permission.