Google Launches Virtual Tour of Cambodia's Angkor Wat
Google Launches Virtual Tour of Cambodia's Angkor Wat
Located in remote, northwestern Cambodia, the ancient Angkor Wat temples
have been a wonder from afar for many who had neither the time nor
money to pay a visit. Now, a tour is just a free click away, thanks to
Google Street View.
The company announced the launch of its new ground-level view of the complex Thursday in Siem Reap province, where the temples are located.
Explore
the wonders of Angkor, Cambodia, where thousand-year-old temples lie
hidden in the jungle, and ancient cities and roads trace a path to the
lost kingdoms of the Khmer empire.
Senior Google staffer Divon Lan Thursday said the service was the product of more than a year of work.
“It has significance beyond Cambodia. This is a very important part of
history of the world. The site is the biggest religious site in the
world. It’s the biggest Hindu temple in the world, so for the billions
of people who believe in Hinduism in the world, this is very important
for them. So this a very important heritage site in the global scale.
This is a part of the world of information that we want to bring to
everyone in the world," said Lan.
Google Street View users can now visit 100 temples and sculptures around
Angkor Wat, via a 360-degree perspective. The new initiative adds to
existing virtual tours of the Taj Mahal in India and Mt. Fuji in Japan.
Bun Narith, director general of the Apsara Authority, which administers
Angkor Wat on behalf of the government, said he hopes the project will
help attract even more tourists to the temples.
"We hope that when people see these temples online, some of them would
be interested and want to see the temples in person, so with this
project we expect more tourists to come," said Narith.
Cambodia welcomed 4.2 million tourists last year, many of whom visited Angkor Wat.
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