Google puts 3D models of World Cup stadiums online

Google added panoramic pitch-level photographs and 3D models of the World Cup stadiums in South Africa to its online offerings on Tuesday.

"Street View" images of seven of the 10 World Cup stadiums allow viewers to explore the inside and outside of the venues in 360 degrees on Google Maps.

The stadiums available in "Street View" include Soccer City in Johannesburg, Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane and Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

3D models of all 10 World Cup stadiums and the nine host cities are available on Google Earth or using Earth View in Google Maps.

Google's "Street View" service has come in for criticism recently after the California company said the vehicles used to take the pictures had also mistakenly gathered private data from unsecured wireless Internet connections.

Google apologized for the privacy breach and said it had stopped collecting any more Wi-Fi network data.