Not many of us have the chance to visit exotic locations, or to get off the beaten tourist path while traveling. Google’s Street View has somewhat addressed this problem by providing us with the means to explore remote places, from ancient temples to panoramic views of Mars, from the comfort of our screens. However, this experience remains solely visual, as Street View misses out on other sensory delights, such as sound and smell, that make the whole adventure more immersive.

Now Amplifon, a specialist in hearing aids, have launched Sounds of Street View, a platform that enables users to tour the world in a multi-sensory way. By fusing Google Maps with web audio API, the developers have embedded sounds into Street View, so virtual travellers can listen to the sound of breaking waves, or the ringing of church bells, depending on their location. Furthermore, the whole experience is stereophonic. So, when the user gets closer to the sound source, the audio amplifies and vice versa, just like it would in real life.

For now, the service is available for only three locations - Place du Palais in Avignon, France, Hapuna Beach in Hawaii and Balboa Park in San Diego, California -, but Amplifon are planning to expand their ‘travel offering’ by allowing users to add their own recorded sounds on Google Maps via the project's website.