Google's new eyewear may not function well in S. Korea

South Koreans may not be able to fully utilize Google Inc.'s new Internet-linked glasses mainly due to the country's tight regulations on map data, industry sources said Tuesday.

The wearable Internet device, rumored to hit the market later this year, reportedly functions as a computer, and features a built-in camera, microphone and speaker technology and can link to the Internet through Wi-Fi connections.

One of its key features, among others, is reportedly the ability to overlay information about one's surroundings on a small screen, a function which is possible through the combination of GPS data and map data.

Sources said some functions of the Google gadget, called Google Glass, could not be used in the country, however, as local map data is prohibited from being taken out of the country without government permission. Citing "security concerns," the government has not approved the overseas transfer of local map data.

Google operates map data servers outside South Korea, which means the U.S. Internet giant is not able to utilize local map data.

Homegrown Web portals such as Naver.com and Daum.net are already providing map services using such data, which can be used overseas as well through Internet connections, according to the sources.

"The regulations may be in place to protect local companies or on security reasons ... but they run counter to the current IT trend," said an official at a foreign IT firm operating in South Korea.

The tight regulations on map data usage may hinder local companies from launching location data-based businesses with global platform operators, and could block development of new products such as self-driving cars and applications to assist the blind.

Regulations in South Korea are often blamed for having delayed the local debut of the iPhone, which was released nearly three years after its global launch.

In 2009, Google refused to accept the South Korean government's request to require users to input their real names when uploading videos on YouTube.com.

But with the quick growth of smartphone users in South Korea and rising criticism that regulations do not align with the interests of local companies nor Korean users, the government began to phase out some of those regulations. (Yonhap News)