Today, Google is throwing a hard punch at Apple's already beleaguered Maps app, and has made Street View available on its mobile Maps Web app.

Since the release of the iPhone 5 on Sept. 21, virtually everyone, including Apple, has agreed that the company's new Maps app is a complete and utter failure. Apple CEO Tim Cook formally apologized for the normally tight-lipped company, saying he was "extremely sorry," and even suggested users download competing maps apps.

But as of today, iPhone 5 users disappointed with Apple's Maps can launch Google's Maps website and navigate via Street View. Enabling Street View requires just a simple tap.

After launching the Maps app, enter the city, landmark, or other destination that you want to see. The site highlights the location and its surrounding area. Tap on the person icon that appears in the lower right corner. If the location is Street View-enabled, a separate tab opens in your browser with the familiar Street View panorama.

Just swipe your finger left or right to move the full 360 degrees. You can also tap on the arrows to walk along the streets and sidewalks as you check out the people and places nearby.

The addition of Street View comes as little surprise since Google was expected to integrate the feature starting today.

"I tested this addition, which displays 360-degree photographic street views of selected locations, and interior photographic views of certain businesses, using sample links Google sent me. These links worked well, allowing me to see the locations and pan around with a finger," said Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal in a video.

Clearly, Mossberg was impressed with the Internet version of Street View on iOS 6 saying that it "worked well, allowing me to see the locations and pan around with a finger."

Adding Street View, even if it is over the web version of Google Maps, should quiet some of the public's cries over Apple Maps. The news is comforting for Apple devotees at the very least, and as we continue to wait for the company to roll out an improved version of Maps, so too is the news that Apple is currently trying to lure Google Maps engineers to work on its own Maps, according to TechCrunch.

Adding Google Maps to your iPhone or iPad is a quick, easy process. Open your browser. Go to the Google Maps page on your mobile device. Tap on the Send button at the top toolbar of your browser. Click on the icon to Add to Home Screen, and an icon for Google Maps then appears on the screen.

Since appealing to the public with Cook's apology, Apple has clearly been against the ropes, scrambling to make up for the flap over Apple Maps to its consumers however it can. Of course, you have to wonder if the tech giant really has much choice else, as the public's very vocal disappointment with the iPhone 5's new Maps app had come to a fever pitch since the smartphone's release.

Last weekend Apple made another small gesture to users by creating a special section of its mobile app marketplace for mapping applications called, "Find maps for your iPhone." The section included apps Cook discussed, as well as others, such as those made by Garmin Ltd. and Waze Inc.

Noam Bardin, head of Waze, which provided some data for Apple's map app, is poised to benefit from Cook's apology and Apple's crisis management strategy of pushing users to download other mapping programs.

"Launching a maps app in a half-baked way, that was a questionable decision, but making up for that so fast and making a category, it's great," Mr. Bardin said. He added that downloads were up 40 percent Friday after the apology, versus a typical daily download.

According to MacRumors, "Apple is piloting a program to tap into its vast number of retail store employees to help improve the company's new Maps app for iOS 6. Details on the initiative remain unclear, but multiple sources have indicated that participating stores will dedicate 40 hours of staff time per week, distributed among a number of employees, to manually examine Apple's mapping data in their areas and submit corrections and improvements."

ifoAppleStore has also posted a Tweet indicating that it too has received information on the effort.

It is unknown exactly what procedures will be used to examine the data, but with a network of around 400 retail stores and almost 40,000 employees spread across over 12 countries, Apple is wise to utilize its fairly evenly spread workforce to address the Maps' mounting pile of issues.

One of the sources MacRumors spoke to reportedly suggested that "a team of ten employees would be participating in the program at one store, with one of those employees being designated a 'subject matter expert' to oversee the team and receiving training on how the team will operate." The retail employees will submit their changes through a dedicated internal portal on Apple's systems.

Sources are now also claiming that many of those who were contracted to help Google with its Maps application are seriously considering joining Apple. Not only because of the company's culture of "revolution and innovation," but because staffers are attracted to the idea of creating something new, rather than just continuing to deliver "tedious updates" to an already established product.

While Apple works to fix the problems with Maps, Google Maps is reportedly building a Maps app for the iPhone and iPad that will be out by the end of 2012, according to The New York Times. Apple has yet to comment.

As recently as Tuesday Sept. 25 Google CEO Eric Schmidt made remarks in Tokyo about how it would have been better for Apple to stick with Google Maps. He added that there wouldn't be a specific Google Maps app on the iPhone soon.