Google is adding a new feature to its Places and Street View offering - Google Business Photos. The point is to give would-be customers a view of the interior of that restaurant or local shop for which they are searching. Perhaps of even greater interest to small businesses, Google’s professional photographers will take the 360 degree shots themselves, gratis.

Local companies in select cities in the U.S., Japan, New Zealand and Australia can apply. For now Google is selecting based on popularity. “We're kicking off by photographing interiors of the types of businesses that we know are searched for most regularly," it explains in its FAQ.

"The types of businesses we're currently interested in are restaurants, hotels, retail shops, and other storefront businesses."

Not on the list - yet, as much will be determined by demand including future cities in which it is offering the service — are legal, medical, or chain establishments. The pictures from the shoot will be added to the company’s Place page.

Eventually, Tech Crunch speculates, Google will launch an app that lets businesses take and load these photos themselves to the Place page.