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Before a new car can be allowed on the road, it must undergo vigorous testing to ensure it is safe both for its occupants and other cars and pedestrians.

But Google wants to streamline this process by being allowed to test its upcoming driverless cars in virtual reality before they hit the roads.

The company has apparently built a digital simulation of the Californian road system, and wants its cars to be certified based on their performance in this virtual world.

Google wants officials to allow the company to test its cars in a virtual world before they hit real roads. The company has apparently developed a digital simulation that the cars can drive around in (3D mapping software of the cars shown) and test their abilities before they head out into the real world

The plans to lobby officials to allow the development were revealed by The Guardian.

Google claims that testing in a virtual world is actually safer, as more eventualities can be accounted for.

And 'they allow manufacturers to test their software under far more conditions and stresses than could possibly be achieved on a test track,' safety director Ron Medford reportedly wrote to California state officials earlier this year. 

The simulation is based on intricate mapping of 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of road in California.

The car's software is then tasked with driving around this virtual world, which includes other cars and pedestrians to avoid.

However, while the cars are adept at traversing this route, it is just a small part of the 172,000 miles (277,000 km) of road in the state alone.

And even before Google begins similar mapping processes in other cities, it is yet to seek approval from California for their virtual reality testing idea.

In addition, the system so far has only been used in the rather balmy and dry conditions in California.

Their digital simulation has not yet been challenged with testing weather conditions such as, for example, a wet and windy day in the UK when more care must be taken when driving.

Learn all about the science behind Google's driverless car

Google's simulation is based on intricate mapping of 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of road in California. The car's software is then tasked with driving around this virtual world. However, while the cars (shown) are adept at traversing this route, it is just a small part of the 172,000 miles (277,000 km) of road in the state alone

The move follows the announcement that Google's self-driving cars will be designed to exceed maximum speed limits, in a move to improve safety.

Dmitri Dolgov, the lead software engineer for the project, revealed the vehicles will go 10mph (16km) faster than the speed limit.

The purpose is to avoid the Google car being significantly slower than speeding vehicles around it, which would increase the risk of an accident.

Mr Dolgov said research showed that sticking to the speed limit when other cars are speeding can be dangerous.

Therefore, the car's speed would be altered depending on traffic conditions, Reuters reported.

The same radar and camera system used for collision avoidance would be used to monitor the speed of other cars and match to them accordingly.

There will be a limit, however, and if another car is dramatically speeding then Google's driverless car will go no faster.

But Mr Dolgov did not elaborate on how the feature would work with speed cameras or mobile police, and whether it could incur a speeding fine.

Google hopes the autonomous cars will drastically reduce accidents on the roads.