Google offering 15,000 3D photo tours

Google has created 15,000 free ''photo tours'' of world landmarks, which create a ''3D'' scene from tourist photographs.

Google has created 15,000 free ''photo tours'' of world landmarks, which create a ''3D'' scene from tourist photographs.

Google has ''built'' 3D panoramas of each scene by using public photographs from its Picasa's photo-sharing website.

The application enables the user Landmarks to ''fly around'' Rome''s Trevi Fountain, Half Dome in America''s Yosemite and St Mark''s Basilica in Venice.

"Every year, millions of people pack their bags and head to far-off places to enjoy sites and cultures different from their own. With today's introduction of photo tours, a feature of Google Maps that guides you through a 3D photo scene, we''re all one step closer," The Daily Mail quoted a Google statement, as saying.

The 15,000 tours can be accessed directly from Google''s Map service

"They can be initiated from Google Maps in two ways. First, when you search for a place, such as Trevi Fountain, the results in the left panel will indicate if there is a photo tour available: click either the thumbnail image or the link to start the tour. Alternatively, if you're browsing the map and click on the label for a particular landmark, the info window that appears will indicate if a photo tour is available," a company statement added.

The tours use Google Maps with WebGL, a software that only works in browsers such as Firefox, Chrome and Safari.