Despite ongoing controversy in Germany, the small town of Oberstaufen is the first in that country to be viewable on Google Street View. And, as requested, Google has blocked the homes of German residents who don’t want to be included.

You can see see that image for yourself. Why is it blurred?

Earlier this year, Google took the unprecedented step of letting Germans opt-out of having their homes appear in Street View photography; an estimated 244,000 households took Google up on that offer — a little less than three percent of homes in the country.

That was just the latest in Google’s long-running battle with German officials over Street View. The German government raised privacy concerns about Street View in early 2009, long before the service was available there.

Google expects to add Street View photography to about 20 German cities by the end of the year.

Postscript (Nov. 18, 2010): Google’s now rolled out StreetView in those 20 cities, including Munich, Hamburg and Berlin.

Related Topics: Channel: Local | Google: Outside US | Google: Street View | Top News

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee

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