Google views a rich harvest

Google Street View camera carSince mid 2007, Google has been collecting images of almost every house, in almost every street throughout Europe, USA and Australia to provide enhanced imagery for Google Maps.
Last week it was discovered that they have been collecting more than just pictures. Wi-Fi antennas on their cars, trikes and snowmobiles have also been harvesting ip addresses, network names and router information associated with each physical address.
Google says this information will be used to improve the accuracy with which smart phones can pinpoint their location on Google maps. A step too far?