Aug 14, 2013 03:50 PM EDT
Google Car Taking Photos for Street View Program Gets Stopped by Confused Thai Villagers

Thai villagers apologized to Google this week for mistaking a Google worker for a government spy mapping out a location for a proposed dam project.

Google's regional communications manager Taj Meadows said that the company is aware of the incident in the Sa-eab village in Phrae province according to the Associated Press.

Approximately 20 residents blocked a Google vehicle equipped with a camera to take photos for its Street View project.

The villagers also forced the vehicle's driver to go to a local office where they asked him questions about being a spy for the dam project.

 He was then taken to a temple where they made him swear to Buddha that he was working for Google according to local paper The Manager.

The driver was later released after the villagers apologized for the mix up.

"(We) apologize to the official, to Google, as well as to the Thai people throughout the nation and to the citizens of the world," the villagers' representatives said according to the Associated Press. "(We're) extremely worried and there had been so many repeated cases that convinced the villagers to believe someone was trying to survey the area in disguise."

Sa-eab is well-known for its dam protests by locals and environmental groups.

Thailand was the 35th country to have Street View imagery available according to the Associated Press.

"Embarking on new projects, we sometimes encounter unexpected challenges, and Street View has been no exception," said Meadows. "Street View abides by Thailand's local laws, and only features imagery taken on public property."

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