North Dakota might be one of the least visited states in the union, but people all over the world can now take a virtual road trip through the state thanks to the Internet search giant Google.

Google announced Tuesday that it expanded its "Street View" coverage to North Dakota, South Dakota, Maine and West Virginia, which allows people who use Google Maps to get 360-degree ground-level imagery of locales on most public streets and highways across the nation.

That means for those looking at a Google Map of North Dakota, they would be able to get a glimpse of what daily life looks like in towns such as Bismarck or Turtle Lake.

To accomplish this, Google had a team of people drive across North Dakota and up and down city streets with a panoramic camera attached to the top of the car.

So when did they drive through Bismarck? Here's a clue: gas was selling for $2.89 at the Stamart on State Street and Divide Avenue at the time.

Google's feature launched in early 2007 in major American cities and has since grown in size and expanded to other countries such as Japan and Italy.

The feature initially sparked debates about online privacy when it launched last year. Street View only features imagery taken from public roads and blurs the faces of people.

- Brian Duggan