text: Today marks 81 years since the notorious 'Surgeon's Photograph', which claimed to show evidence of a monster living in Loch Ness, was published in the Daily Mail. And to celebrate, Google has launched its latest Street View experience that lets you virtually explore both above and beneath the water in the iconic Scottish waterway. The tech giant has also released a Google Doodle to commemorate the anniversary and changed the yellow Pegman to a Nessie peg-monster. Scroll down for videos . Google partnered with Catlin Seaview Survey and Adrian Shine from the Loch Ness and Morar Project to capture the Street View images (Loch Ness and Urquhart Castle pictured). The site has launched to mark the 81st anniversary of the 'Surgeon's Photograph' - an image of the mythical monster from 1934 - and it lets people virtually explore above and beneath the water of the attraction to the southwest of Inverness . To collect the images, Google partnered with Catlin Seaview Survey and Adrian Shine from the Loch Ness and Morar Project -  a project set up to explore the loch and investigate all alleged sightings. 'Like the world's best legends, the Loch Ness Monster transcends the everyday and exists at the edges of possibility,' said Google in a blog post. 'Whether or not you believe, most people hold a romanticised vision of the creature that, legend has it, plumbs the depths of the loch. 'In 1934, the 'Surgeon's Photograph' was released, claiming to show the monster in the misty waters of the lake. It's the most iconic photo in the history of Loch Ness - and may be one of the most elaborate hoaxes of our age.' 'Like the world's best legends, the Loch Ness Monster transcends the everyday and exists at the edges of possibility,' said Google in a blog post.  'Whether or not you believe, most people hold a romanticised vision of a creature that, legend has it, plumbs the depths of the loch . Google said there are more searches for Loch Ness (pictured) than there are for other UK institutions like Buckingham Palace and the Peak District. It is formed of a series of interrelated bodies of water, including the River Oich to the south and the Bona Narrows to the north . Loch Ness (marked) lies along the Great Glen Fault. This forms a line of weakness in the rocks which forms the Great Glen and the basins of Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness . 'Today, to celebrate the anniversary of its release, we're bringing 360-degree Street View imagery of Loch Ness to Google Maps, so you can go in search of Nessie yourself.' Formed of a series of interrelated bodies of water, including the River Oich to the south and the Bona Narrows to the north, Loch Ness stretches for 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Inverness. Although it's neither the largest Scottish loch by surface area nor depth, it is the largest by volume, containing more freshwater than all the lakes of England and Wales combined and is almost 800ft (243 metres) deep. The Surgeon's Photograph (pictured) was taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson and published in the Daily Mail on 21 April that year. It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed the pictures were staged . The tech giant has also released a Google Doodle (pictured) to commemorate the anniversary and changed the yellow Pegman to a Nessie peg-monster . The Loch Ness Monster has been the subject of many sightings in the Scottish Highlands. Most, however, have been dismissed as hoax or fantasy. Some experts believe the beast represents a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs, a type of carnivorous aquatic reptile from millions of years ago, while one of the most accepted explanations is that the monster is in fact a giant sturgeon, which can grow up to 12ft (3.7 metres) long. Others include eels, bird wakes, seals, trees, logs, submarines, dogs with sticks - and even an elephant. Loch Ness stretches for 23 miles (37 km) southwest of Inverness. Although it's neither the largest Scottish loch by surface area nor depth, it is the largest by volume, containing more freshwater than all the lakes of England and Wales combined and is almost 800ft (243 meters) deep . This image was taken beneath the waterline at the southern edge of the loch near the River Oich and shows Fort Augustus Abbey. From the late nineteenth century to 1998 the abbey was a Benedictine monastery . Adrian Shine has been carrying out fieldwork in the Highlands since 1973 and has logged 1,000 Nessie sightings. He said: 'The Google project was so cloaked in secrecy, when people asked about the ripples in the loch during the expeditions,  I had no opinion' The Loch Ness Monster has been a subject of intrigue and debate since it came to the world's attention. William Jobes took what appears to be a close-up of theMonster in 2011 (pictured) The Loch Ness Monster has been a subject of mass intrigue and debate since it came to . the world's attention in 1934. Scientists have widely written off the idea as a modern-day myth, with continued sightings claimed to be set ups and wishful thinking. But it has remained a contested phenomenon for 81 years. Perhaps the most famous picture of . Nessie was taken by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson, a London gynaecologist. It . was published in the Daily Mail on 21 April 1934 and showed what looked like a long neck and head rising from the water. However, . it turned out to be a toy submarine bought from Woolworths with a head . and neck made of wood in an elaborate hoax by big-game hunter Marmaduke . Wetherell in an act of revenge on the newspaper that had ridiculed him . over his hapless search for the beast. The . earliest report of a monster in the vicinity of Loch Ness appears in . the Life of St Columba by Adomnán, written in the 7th century. St . Columba, an Irish monk, had sent a disciple into the loch to prove . there was nothing there. But the monster rose and chased the man . snapping at his heels. But it fled in terror 'as if pulled back by ropes' when St Columba made the sign of the cross and commanded: 'Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once.' In November 1933, Hugh Gray was the first to picture a creature splashing in the water. Four . stumpy-looking objects on the bottom of the creature's body appeared to . look like appendages, such as flippers, but it was later suggested the . creature was a dog, possibly holding a stick. In 1938, G. E. Taylor, a South African tourist, filmed something in the loch for three minutes on 16mm colour film. His picture was declared 'positive evidence' by a famous biologist and cryptozoologist. In 1960, aeronautical engineer Tim Dinsdale filmed a hump crossing the water leaving a powerful wake. Mr Dinsdale allegedly spotted the animal on . his last day hunting for it, and described the object as reddish with a . blotch on its side. In May 2007, Gordon Holmes, a . 55-year-old lab technician, captured video of what he said was 'this jet . black thing, about 45ft long, moving fairly fast in the water'. The film, though, has been cast into . doubt. Mr Holmes has been criticised for claiming the existence of . fairies and another expert later claimed the film actually shows otters . swimming in the loch. William Jobes took what appears to be a close-up of the Loch Ness Monster in 2011. In February 2012, a sonar image of a . large mystery object deep below the surface of Loch Ness netted boat . skipper Marcus Atkinson the Best Nessie Sighting of The Year Award - the . first time in several years it has been presented by bookmaker William . Hill. The sonar picture, that shows a large . unidentified living object deep underwater, was recorded by Loch Ness . boat skipper Marcus Atkinson. Mr Atkinson’s . sonar fish-finder device records the width of objects in the depths . directly below his tourist boat every quarter of a second. An online register lists 1,067 total Nessie sightings. The list was created by Gary Campbell, the man behind the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club. But the Surgeon's Photograph is among the most famous. A diver from the Catlin Seaview Survey is shown collecting imagery of the loch . It was taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson and published in the Daily Mail on 21 April that year, but was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed the pictures were staged. The image turned out to be a toy submarine bought from Woolworths with a head and neck made of wood in an elaborate hoax by big-game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell in an act of revenge on the newspaper that had ridiculed him over his search for the beast. Adrian Shine has been carrying out fieldwork in the Highlands since 1973 and has logged more than 1,000 Nessie sightings. He said: 'The Google project was so cloaked in secrecy, when people asked about the ripples in the loch during the special diving expeditions, for once I had no opinion. 'I'm so proud to have been part of this initiative and I hope people worldwide enjoy exploring Street View to have a look and then be inspired to travel to Scotland to discover this area of magical beauty and natural intrigue.' VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead added: 'The Street View project is hugely exciting and we are delighted the team at Google have been as inspired about our monster as the hundreds and thousands of visitors who travel to Loch Ness every year hoping to catch a glimpse.' Research carried out 20 years ago estimated the Nessie phenomenon having an economic impact of £40 million ($59 million) to the Scottish economy. With inflation, this figure would have risen to £60 million ($89 million) by now. And Google said there are more searches for Loch Ness than there are for other UK institutions like Buckingham Palace and the Peak District. 'Wherever you stand on the Nessie debate, the legend lives on - even in the digital era. Sail across the freshwater lake and take in its haunting beauty, made darker still by the peat particles found in its waters,' the site continued. 'Let the Loch unlock the spirit of your imagination, where the rippling water, tricks of the light, and drifting logs bring the legend of Nessie to life. 'You can imagine Nessie nestling within these dark, peat-filled waters, waiting for the right moment to breach the surface into the Scottish sunlight above.
target: Google partnered with Catlin Seaview Survey and the Loch Ness and Morar Project to capture the Street View shots .
  Site has launched to mark the 81st anniversary of the 'Surgeon's Photograph' - an image of the mythical monster .
  It lets people virtually explore above and beneath the water of the iconic waterway to the southwest of Inverness .
  There are more searches for Loch Ness than any other UK institution, and Google's doodle also marks the occasion .