By Stephanie Rogers
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

If you’ve used Google’s Street View in the last couple days, you’ve probably noticed some changes to its interface. Google has made it a lot quicker and easier to enable Street View on Google Maps, enabling users to drag the Street View icon, Pegman, from the zoom slider onto the street you want to see. Google has even provided a quick video overview of the changes on YouTube.

The view itself is also larger and of a higher resolution than it was previously, allowing you to see things in better detail. The four-way directional pad has been replaced with a rotating compass, and the lowest zoom level is now Street View imagery, as well. Small changes, but they might help you get to Grandma’s house this Thanksgiving.

CNET reports that there appear to be some bugs when viewing either the mini-map or split-screen view in the latest version of Google’s own Chrome browser, 0.4.154.25.

In a blog post about the changes, the Google Earth and Maps team also share a mini gallery of various Pegman Easter eggs, sketches and prototypes, including holiday themes.

Continuing the Google Street View theme, here’s an oldie but a goodie just for kicks and giggles: Mashable’s Top 15 Google Street View Sightings, which include semi-nude sunbathers and a guy walking into an adult bookstore. Just some entertainment while you’re pretending to work.

[Via CNET]