The innovative technology allows people to see three dimensional streets and roads virtually anywhere in the world.

So it was only a question of time before internet search engine Google's Street View technology turned its attention to the hidden depths of Loch Ness and the search for Nessie.

Adrian Shine, leader of the Loch Ness Project and designer of the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition in Drumnadrochit, has been working with the Google and Catlin Seaview Survey teams to perform an operation to photograph above and below the waters.

From today, Nessie hunters worldwide will be able to use Google Street View to search the mysterious waters.

When searching in the Loch Ness area, a Nessie monster icon will flash up on computer screens, giving users the power to zoom into different areas of the lake.

Ms Shine, who is also an ambassador for the national tourism body VisitScotland said Nessie was the "most accessible cryptid in the world."

"The project was so cloaked in secrecy, when people asked about the ripples in the Loch during the special diving expeditions; for once I had no opinion."