I just found this: the Virtual City of Toronto combines maps and camera views. It should be good for urban planning or just getting a feel for the city.
Their “About Us” page says:
VirtualCity seeks to connect our users to their surroundings through the latest in innovative new mapping technologies. Visitors to our site are able to view major metropolitan areas through seamless digital landscapes encompassing GIS-accurate street-level photography, as well as search business names and view their actual storefront.VirtualCity’s photographs are collected via mobile communication centers equipped with high-definition video cameras and the latest in global positioning technology. GIS-grade GPS, accelerometers to sense increases and decreases in acceleration, and gyro meters to sense directional changes, all tie into the vehicles’ computer bus to sense each full rotation of the wheels, while custom software compares these readings 10 times per second to create extremely accurate location data regardless of degraded GPS or “urban canyons.”
Millions of photographs are taken of each metropolitan area, giving our users the unique ability to stroll through selected streets, viewing points of interest before they ever leave their computer. In addition, we allow our users to traverse maps traditionally and find detailed directions complete with time and mileage summaries.
There is also a Virtual Montreal.
