It was one of those “quiet grand openings” a few weeks go, but alert WGNA eLister Mark Sweiger caught the arrival of Willow Glen on Google’s Street View maps feature:

From: Mark Sweiger
Subject: Smile, you’re on Candid Camera

I just noticed that most of Willow Glen north of Minnesota as well as the part west of Newport and north of Pine is now on Google Street View. … You may see yourself watering the lawn, your cat in the window, or, as some have discovered, your image coming out of the Pink Poodle. I just checked and you can see in the open door of the Pink Poodle but it will take better spy software than I’ve got to look through the partition, so you are all safe for now until the Google Insect Cruise Cam comes into your house.

Where is my flyswatter?

This maps feature from Google made news this past week when a couple in Pennsylvania sued Google for invasion of privacy:

PITTSBURGH - A western Pennsylvania couple has sued Google Inc., saying pictures of their home on its Web site violate their privacy and devalued their property.

Images of the home Aaron and Christine Boring bought in the Pittsburgh suburb of Franklin Park in October 2006 appeared on Google’s “Street View” feature, which allows users to find street-level photos by clicking on a map.

“A major component of their purchase decision was a desire for privacy,” according to their complaint, filed Wednesday in state court, which also says the couple suffered mental distress.

The images must have been taken from the couple’s long driveway, which is labeled “Private Road,” and that violated their privacy, according to the complaint.

Mark’s joke was penned before the lawsuit was announced. But it may only be a matter of time before similar suits appear from folks found in compromising positions. Of course, the privacy issues didn’t stop local bog Valleywag’s posting of pictures of the Pennsylvania residence.

Google uses vehicles with mounted digital cameras to collect pictures for Street View. Some of these vehicles were spotted in WG last Fall, which seems to correlate with some of the images recognized by neighbors. Right now, Street View is only available for areas north of Pine Avenue (marked in blue above). Stay tuned for more.