Google Maps: Underwater panoramic images : Stakes and Opportunities since September 26, 2012

After the catastrophic entrance of Apple maps service via Iphone 5, Google is consolidating more its position like the leader and the best in the domain.

Therefore, since September 26, 2012 ,you can use Google Maps to find a sea turtle swimming among a school of fish, follow a manta ray and experience the reef at sunset.

You can see an ancient boulder coral, which may be several hundred years old. Besides in the middle of the Pacific, in Hawaii, you can join snorkelers in Oahu’s Hanauma Bay and drift over the vast coral reef at Maui's Molokini crater. 

Via this project, Google aims to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate and usable map of the world.

To make it possible, Google is partnering with The Catlin Seaview Survey, one of the major scientific studies of the world’s reefs, to make these wonderful images available to millions of people through the Street View feature of Google Maps. The Catlin Seaview Survey used a specially designed underwater camera, the SVII, to capture these photos.