Google, ASI unveil 360-degree online photo tour of Red Fort, Taj Mahal

[mmadhankumar]

People around the globe will now be able to recreate the experience of visiting India’s most famous landmark – the Taj Mahal online! Besides Taj Mahal, 30 other iconic Indian heritage sites including Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb and Agra Fort are now live on Google Map through Street View.

After bringing iconic global landmarks alive on the internet through its immersive visual walkthroughs, internet major Google, with the support of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has unveiled the first 360-degree online imagery of the 30 sites on Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute.

The Indian monuments now live on Google Maps and Cultural Institute, can be viewed alongside the hundreds of tourist attractions around the world that have already been mapped.

Google together with ASI had commenced a complete walkthrough of over 100 Indian monuments to usher a ‘virtual tour’ of the most visited monuments in the country, so as to make those sites more accessible for the world.

“Today, this partnership with Google makes it possible for billions of people across the world to see and explore our magnificent heritage, to take a walk at the Rock Cut Jain Temple, to marvel at the Nagarjuna Konda Buddhist Stupas and to relive history in Fatehpur Sikri. With the release of these new panoramic images, we aim to create a dynamic, immersive online experience by which people within India and around the world can understand and engage more of India’s diverse cultural heritage,” said Union Minister of Culture Chandresh Kumari Katoch.
The Internet giant had signed a memorandum with the Ministry of Tourism to create the application using its ‘Street View Trekker’ technology for the first time in India.

“The images coming online today through Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute provide a new way for people around the world to view, interact with, and learn about some of the most important heritage monuments in India. We hope this new way of exploring national treasures such as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Qutb Minar will help share more of India’s diverse culture with new audiences, and help preserve this part of India’s identity for generations to come,” said Pravin Srivastava, Director General of the ASI.

Google Cultural Institute has worked with multiple partners in over 40 countries on sites such as in Italy’s Pompeii and France’s Eiffel tower and Palace of Versailles,among other cultural icons around the world.


http://indianexpress.com/article/in...0-degree-online-imagery-of-red-fort-taj-mahal