Google takes Street View up the world's tallest skyscraper

For the first time Google have taken their Street View cameras into a skyscraper, offering the public a view from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Standing at 829.8 meters (2722ft) the Khalifa is the tallest man-made structure in the world and was opened in January 2010.

The imagery was collected over three days using the Google Street view Trekker and Trolley – Google’s most portable panoramic cameras.

The new shots give views from the world’s tallest observation deck on the 124 floor, as well as taking you outside to the vertigo-inducing maintenance units on the 80 floor. The cameras also visited the highest occupied floor (the 163) and took a ride on the Khalifa’s elevators – the fastest moving the world, travelling at 22mph.

Although Street View started out as a fairly practical project, Google have also spent much time and energy capturing more esoteric locations with their cameras.

Highlights include their tours of the world’s highest peaks; the interiors (and artwork) of the most famous galleries; as well as coverage of the modern Wonders of the World, from the Barrier Reef to Scott’s Hut – the abandoned base of operations for the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913.