Can you spot Nessie on Street View? Google adds Loch Ness to Maps

Google has launched Street View imagery of Scotland's famous Loch Ness, on the 81st anniversary of the famous sighting of the fabled sea monster Nessie.

From today, the 23-mile long loch can be explored close-up on Maps, with the ability to zoom in and even view underwater shots of the famous waters.

Rather than the usual yellow pegman icon, users scanning the freshwater lake see a Nessie peg monster.

Google, which said it gets more Street View search requests for Loch Ness than for Buckingham Palace, sent divers from the Catlin Seaview Survey to capture the loch.

In 1934, the iconic image of 'Nessie', known as the "Surgeon's Photograph" was published in the Daily Mail.

It was taken by London gynaecologist Robert Wilson, who claimed to have been looking at the loch when the "head and neck" of the creature appeared.

The Google Doodle also honoured the Loch Ness legend:

"Wherever you stand on the Nessie debate, the legend lives on - even in the digital era," Google said in a blog post announcing the launch.

More: Long-lost 'relative' of the Loch Ness Monster discovered