Google street view are expanding their range of panoramic locations and will soon be allowing people to view Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from behind their desks.

Google unveiled on Thursday a new research project that will bring the world of marine haven to the homes of millions. The Catlin Seaview Survey, sponsored by the Catline Group Ltd, will have the project document and study the composition and health sections of the well-known reef. The collaboration with Google means that the pictures from the survey will be widely available online for anyone who wants to delve deeper into the deep blue sea.

Charting the seabed © 2012 CatlinSeaviewSurvey.com

“As an insurer, Catlin offers our clients protection against many types of risks, so it is natural that we should play a leading role in sponsoring research to learn more about the risks of tomorrow,” said Stephen Catlin, Chief Executive of Catlin Group Ltd.

The project will commence this September, but the Google street view service will soon be available allowing unprecedented underwater tours of the Great Barrier Reef.

Millions of people will be able to experience the life and science of marine biodiversity, raising public awareness of potential changes to our planet’s oceans and the underwater ecosystems.

Professor Hoegh-Guldberg from the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland is all too excited about the project. “The Catlin Seaview Survey comprises a series of studies which will reveal to the public one of the last frontiers on Earth – the oceans. For the first time in history, we have the technology available to broadcast the findings of the expedition through Google.”

Watch the video here.