Exploring the Grand Canyon usually involves a map, walking boots - and a lot of stamina.
But, thanks to Google, even the laziest among us could soon become the most intrepid of travellers - and all without leaving the comfort of our sofa.
The internet giant is using its Street View cameras - mounted for the first time in a backpack - to showcase the US attraction's most popular hiking trails. On Monday it mapped the ten-mile Bright Angel Trail along the Arizona canyon's South Rim.
Each 18kg backpack contains 15 five-megapixel cameras, which are positioned to give a 360-degree view, an on-board hard drive, and enough battery to run for a day. The images will then be stitched together and should be available in a few months.
The move is the latest evolution in mapping technology for the firm, which has photographed 3,000 cities in 43 countries since 2007 for its Street View feature.
