It was announced (unofficially) in February by some tipsters at Search Engine Land that Google is adding a new feature called Google Places (often called Store Views) that will allow people to virtually walk through locations right from Maps. Lynn Freidus, owner of Random Accessories in the East Village, received a call from Google last week to take interior photos of her store for Google Places.

Apparantly, Lynn was contacted because she has a Google Maps Profile. Several neighbors she is in contact with said they have not been contacted by Google yet. It seems that if you are a business owner and would like to have the interior of your business photographed, make sure to establish a Google Maps Profile on Google Places. Otherwise, you can submit your own photos by going to Google Places.

Google spent about 30 minutes in the store capturing the shots they needed and the Google rep said the feature would be launched in a couple of weeks. However, there have been reports from other store owners who had their businesses photographed several months ago and have yet to see it live. It seems Google is making their rounds to get this new feature launched in the near future.

Random Accessories Interior - 77 E 4th St, NY, NY

Google has made the following comment:

“When customers are searching for the right local business, the setting, facilities, ambiance, merchandise, layout, or decor can be important factors in choosing where to go. If you want to find the perfect romantic restaurant for your anniversary dinner, you’ll want to find a place that has the right atmosphere. Or if you need to find a new gym, you’ll probably want to see what sort of equipment and amenities they offer. Place Pages currently feature images from business owners and third-party sources, but we wanted to supplement those with additional photos taken by Google photographers to provide consumers with more ways to get a sense of what awaits them when they step through the door of a business.”

In the meantime, let me know what you think of Google Store Views. If you have any additional information that you would like to share, contact me at natasha@composuremarketing.com or leave a comment.