Dead bodies, gang arrests, prostitutes, kids doing drugs – welcome to Google Street View, Brazil style.

The search giant last week opened the doors to its street-level, panoramic online mapping service in the South American country, allowing armchair observers to scan a snapshot of daily life.

But within hours dead bodies began popping up and now all manner of oddities have been captured on sites dedicated to Street View sightseeing (see gallery).

One site, Streetviu.tumblr.com, has pages of posts on Brazil Street View that show far more than the drunks, strip clubs and half naked beachgoers spotted when the Australian version launched.

Several more dead bodies have been uncovered in alleyways and side streets. In one shot, a man casually talks on a payphone as a body lies at his feet.