A whole lot of people feel a whole lot of different ways about Google Street View. For some, it's a godsend, allowing them to find their way to the exact location that they're looking for, Others feel that the service invades their privacy, photographing their home, vehicles and sometimes even themselves and their loved ones without permission. No matter your feelings on Google Street View it's our opinion that thanks to a group of passionate Google engineers, a use for the technology has finally been found that everyone can agree is absolutely awesome: Bringing the greatest art and most beautiful museums in the world into the homes of computer users everywhere.
Announced on the Official Google Blog this morning, the Google Art Project is a new service that makes the greatest art in the world available to anyone with an internet connection. Capturing the artworks using gigapixel technology, Google has made it possible to zoom into each of the paintings and review them right down to the texture of the brushstrokes used to create them. To make for a fully immersive experience, the Google Art Project also allows visitors to the site to virtually wander the halls of many of the world's finest museums including MOMA, the Uffizi Gallery, and the National Gallery in London. Best of all, users of the service have been given the ability to build their own collection of favorite paintings from a collection of some of the finest in the world, allowing for repeated viewing of the works of the masters time and time again.
It goes without saying that this is a wonderful opportunity for art lovers and students who otherwise would never have the opportunity to visit the galleries featured by the service.
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