Italian officials today launched a probe into Google, which has been accused of collecting mounds of personal information through unsecured Wi-Fi networks with its Street View cars.

Who are those blurry, possibly robed figures hovering above a lake in Quarten, Switzerland, visible on Google Street View? Is it something on the camera lens? Or is it maybe... God and His only begotten Son?

We're all familiar with Google Map's cool/creepy satellite imagery, great for spotting airplanes and busting illegal backyard pools. The technology has received a significant boost recently. (Though not, as some conspiracy theorists believe, thanks to drone technology.)

How often do you say to yourself, "I sure would like to see this address that I'm mapping on the frozen continent of Antarctica"? A couple times a day, right? Well: Antarctica now has a Google Maps Street View.

Hey, look, a website that crowdsources information on the price of weed in various world cities, then calculates averages and charts it on a Google map. File under: Synergy, Inevitabilities, Reasons To Move To The Pacific Northwest. [PriceofWeed.com]

Google is letting privacy-minded Germans opt out of Google Street View. But one Street View fan, IT consultant Jens Best, has sworn to photograph every excluded house, then upload them manually to Google Maps. Meet the human embodiment of Google.

In an unprecedented step, Google is letting privacy-sensitive Germans delete pictures of their homes from Google Street View. This is a limited time offer, however. Act now for maximum privacy. But only in Germany. Why?

Horrified by an image of a Google Street View image of child lying face-down in a gutter with her shoes cast off, residents of Worcester (England, not Massachusetts) contacted the authorities. Luckily, little Azura Beebeejaun is just playin, y'all.

A Googler took delivery of a near-silent mini-drone from a German company, which says it hopes to sell a fleet of the spy planes for taking Google Maps photos. Hopefully without using the optional thermal camera that sees through walls.

Following our earlier post about the enormous airplane in the middle of Brooklyn on Google Maps, readers sent in other airplane apparitions. One appears to be a real airplane, hidden in someone's yard. The other appears to be underwater.

Is someone in Bushwick hiding a ginormous 747* behind a bunch of trees in a park? Untapped New York has discovered a mysterious, airplane-shaped apparition on both Google Earth and Google Maps, in a place normally occupied by a playground.

Two sexy underage teens were in the midst of their "very first kiss as a couple" when a Google Maps van snapped their picture. Now Eddie Bateman and Hayley Moss are recorded for posterity getting it on behind a bush.

Ponzi schemers to the stars Kenneth Starr and Andrew Madoff (son of Bernie) both live at 433 E. 74th Street, or "Ponzi Palace." No wonder their one-punch doorman is such a thug. He's even in Ponzi Palace's Google Street View.

A woman is suing Google after being hit by a car while following directions from Google Maps. Do you remember when a fictional character basically did this on The Office, and people said it was unrealistic? Ha. [PC World]

The BP oil spill is spread across an estimated 2,500 square miles, and is dumping at least 200,000 gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico every day. What would that look like in New York?

Google has done it again, this time by linking up Google Earth and Google Street View to create an amazing 3D map of Manhattan. Is this ground breaking new technology or one step closer to ultimate world domination by Google?

Google Earth has added a plugin to access updated satellite maps of a post-quake Haiti. On their blog, the Earth and Maps team invites users to help them aggregate location-based information for disaster relief. ReadWriteWeb does before and after screencaps.

Google's mission is to "organize the world's information". Unfortunately, a lot of this information is from crazy right-wingers. First came the Michelle Obama chimp picture in image search. Now, look what happens when you Google "Planned Parenthood":

The town of Argleton, England doesn't exist, but you can search its white pages, look for nearby chiropractors and map a jog through town, because "Argleton" is on Google Maps. How'd the phantom town get there? Funny you should ask.

Monopoly is a terrible, depressing board game; as one expert famously said, it's all about "grinding your opponents into dust" while you cackle. But at least the gouging and economic ruin has been confined to cardboard. Until now.