According to Frederic Lardinois, writing on the ReadWriteWeb, Google has been granted a new patent for technology that will update advertising space in Google Maps' Street View.
The patent, entitled 'Claiming Real Estate in Panoramic or 3D Mapping Environments for Advertising', outlines plans for technology that identifies advertising space - such as billboards, posters, signs and buildings - and allows it to be changed.
Using the new system, theatres and cinemas (for example) could update their buildings to advertise events that are taking place now, and not when the Google Street View photo was taken.
The technology also raises the spectre of companies paying to advertise on rivals' real estate. It is hard to imagine - for example - the Daily Telegraph being able to resist advertising on the Guardian's offices, and vice versa. Certainly, Google does seem to have plans to open up the bidding for advertising space:
The link can alternatively be associated with an advertiser who placed the highest bid on the image recognized within the region of interest (e.g., poster, billboard, banner, etc.)... For example, the image of the coffee shop can be hot-linked to an advertisement for the coffee shop.
Once again, Google appears to be blurring the boundaries between the real and online worlds. But will this new form of display advertising prove popular? Only time will tell, but prepare for some lively discussion over virtual advertising rights.
