Google has argued in a court submission that there can be no expectation of privacy in the modern world.

The search giant is being sued by a Pennsylvania couple after their home appeared on Google Street View. The couple's house is on a road clearly marked as private property.

"Today's satellite image technology means that even in today's desert, complete privacy does not exist," said Google's submission.

"In any event, the plaintiffs live far away from the desert and are far from hermits."

The couple is suing Google for $25,000 in damages, claiming that the value of their property has been affected and that they have suffered "mental stress".

This is not the first time that Street View has got Google into trouble. The EU is recommending that people's faces should be blurred out of the images.

Street View aims to photograph every street in the world and place the photographs online. A team of specially converted cars with cameras mounted on the roof are in constant action around the world.