Google Street View service, which now covers more than 96 per cent of street and roads in the UK, has come under fire after it showed a naked child.

Google Street View captured images of the 4-5 year old blond boy with his trousers down and made them public on Thursday.

The images of the naked boy prompted fears that the service will provide sex offenders with a new tool to assault children.

Google’s Street View service provides 360-degree images of almost all the streets and roads in the UK.

Opponents of the service have been criticizing Google Street View, arguing that it would invade privacy plus anti-social elements could exploit the detailed street-level information.

Google has promised that its Street View service would not show faces and licence plates. But in the concerned case, Google blurred the child's face but not the registration plate of the family's car, which makes it possible for paedophiles to trace boy’s address.

Google has apologised for any for the blunder.

Speaking on the issue, Google said, “We apologise for any inadvertent concern this may have caused.”

Google removed the pictures of the naked boy soon after it was alerted yesterday.