While Torontonians often tout their hometown as a world-class city comparable to New York or Tokyo, one global benchmark has so far eluded the Big Smoke -- a spot on the Google Street View roster.

Indeed, while many global cities worth their weight in mass transit lines have been snapped and mapped by Google's groundbreaking software, cyber navigators hoping to explore Toronto from the comfort of their computer terminals have thus far been greeted with blankness.

Well, not for much longer.

On Saturday, Google's Street View car -- complete with its famous tripod and massive panoramic camera -- was spotted prowling several major streets in Toronto.

The distinct camera is able to capture 360-degree pictures every few seconds, which are then merged together to create a seamless, virtual map available on the Internet.

Once the images are online, amateur explorers can zoom in on the images and scroll -- rather than stroll -- through side-streets and avenues in real time.

While Google announced last month that the technology would come to Canada in "the near future," the Internet giant has been less than forthcoming about specifics.

Indeed, while many technophiles and curious orienteers the world over have welcomed Google Street View with open browsers, others say the program is an affront to privacy rules.

Just last week, in fact, a U.K.-based privacy watchdog stated in a letter to the British Information Officer that Google isn't doing enough leg work to ensure that individuals' privacy rights are protected.

In the letter, Privacy International's Simon David said: "We believe on the basis of complaints received, that the service has created numerous instances of embarrassment and distress and that the promised privacy safeguards do not provide adequate protection to shield Street View from the general requirement to provide notice prior to collection of the data."

Earlier this week, in the tiny British village of Broughton, residents even formed a human chain to block a Google Street View car from snapping photos of their community.

"I was upstairs when I spotted the camera car driving down the lane," resident Paul Jacobs told the London Times.

"My immediate reaction was anger: How dare anyone take a photograph of my home without my consent?"

Google, meanwhile, says it takes many precautions to and has several safeguards in place to ensure privacy rules are respected.

Google is expected to map 11 Canadian cities in the coming months, from Saint John, N.B., to Vancouver.

With files from The Associated Press