Google Street View hits Houston

Finally, Google Street View has come to Houston. Now we can see all those far-flung parts of town we've always wanted to check out — without having to leave Houstonist World Headquarters! Kind of, anyway: Most of the street view streets are on the southwest side, and almost all of 'em are inside the Beltway. No virtual tours of Alief for us, we guess.

If you haven't used Google Street View, here's an introductory video that shows you how to do it. It's a pretty cool thing, really: It shows you 360-degree views up and down selected streets, and you can navigate around and zoom in on stuff using on-screen tools. So, in Houston, you can spin around in the middle of the Pierce Elevated, check out the hookers along Lower Westheimer and even stand (virtually) in the parking lot of First Colony Mall. It's almost like going on vacation!

Google took the 360-degree views from trucks that have been cruising the streets of major metro areas across the country; Houston's one of nine cities to have the service (San Diego, Orlando and L.A. were also added to the ranks Tuesday). We're not sure if anyone will be able to find scenes from Houston to add to the list of bizarre street view sightings — but we're sure gonna try.

Check out the jump for a handful of shots ...