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Yakushima pics to hit Google Street View

Viewfinder: With a special panoramic camera on his back, a Google employee treks across Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture in February to take images for the search engine's Street View service. Google says the views of the World Heritage site will be available online possibly by this summer. | GOOGLE INC./KYODO

Kyodo

KAGOSHIMA – Panoramic shots taken from mountain trails on Yakushima Island, a World Natural Heritage site, will be available online via Google Inc.’s Street View service, possibly this summer, according to the Japanese unit of the U.S. Internet giant.

Google staff spent an arduous two days in February trekking an 11-km route between the Arakawa trailhead and an observatory for the world-famous Jomon cedar tree, carrying equipment capable of capturing 360-degree views, it said.

Google Japan said it hopes to offer people around the world the chance to view Yakushima in Kagoshima Prefecture and that this will help generate interest in the site.

The company is planning to photograph 3,776-meter Mount Fuji, which the government is hoping to have registered as a World Heritage site