KOTA KINABALU, Oct 29 – Panoramic images of Sabah’s iconic tourist attractions, including the summit of Mount Kinabalu, are now available on Google’s Street View application.
The collection of images from Sabah include Kapalai, Mabul and Mantanani Island, Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre and the Tip of Borneo, which join other national treasures already on the list such as Mulu Caves, Taman Negara, Pangkor and Langkawi, among others.
“The highlight of the Sabah collection is of course the country’s tallest mountain, which was collected before the quake.
“We will plan updating it as soon as we can, given the conditions,” said Street View Operations Lead for Malaysia, Indonesia & Thailand Nhazlisham Hamdan.
“The availability of Street View for Sabah’s beautiful nature attractions for the very first time makes Google Maps more useful, comprehensive and enjoyable for Malaysians and everyone else interested in discovering more about Sabah’s natural heritage sites,” he added
The images of the mountain were captured via the Google Street View Trekker, a wearable backpack-mounted camera system that was carried up the Mount Kinabalu trail.
Street View, which is part of the Google Maps suite, now covers 80 per cent of east Malaysia and 90 per cent of peninsular Malaysia’s public roads.
“We are still trying to cover all of Malaysia, and anywhere that is accessible by humans, and within permit, we will try to cover,” he said.
Google Street View began capturing the panoramic street-level images in Sabah last October via its Street View car, the trekker, a Street View trolley and all terrain vehicle (ATV).
State Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said that he hoped the images that were now available to a global audience of internet users would be able to boost tourism further.
“I hope that this virtual exploration of Sabah’s natural environment will translate into visits here,” he said.
He also welcomed the Google Street View crew to carry out an update on Mount Kinabalu’s new trails to the summit once it is reopened this December 1.
