Google has admitted that for the past three years it has wrongly
collected information people have sent over unencrypted wi-fi networks.

The issue came to light after German authorities asked to audit the data
the company's Street View cars gathered as they took photos viewed on
Google maps.

Google said during a review it found it had "been mistakenly collecting
samples of payload data from open networks".

The admission will increase concerns about potential privacy breaches.

These snippets could include parts of an email, text or photograph or
even the website someone may be viewing.

In a blogpost Google said as soon as it became aware of the problem it
grounded its Street View cars from collecting wi-fi information and
segregated the data on its network.

More ........ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8684110.stm