Google has announced it has managed to shrink its Street View photography rig -- usually seen attached to cars or pulled by bikes -- down to a portable size that fits into a backpack.

The new "Street View Trekker" is perfect for peeking through your windows when you least expect it going places wheeled vehicles can't, like the Grand Canyon, the slopes of Tahoe, and other destinations Google employees are psyched to visit for work.

Of course, it could also be crowdsourced to provide maps of remote areas of the world that still haven't been rendered in 3D for our virtual tourist enjoyment.

[google.]