Rome via Google Earth

Google Earth has now built a 3-D representation of the ancient city of Rome, circa A.D 320. Viewers will be able to tour the city in a matter of minutes thanks to the software. Elisabetta Povoledo reports:

"First Google Earth turned millions of Internet users into virtual travelers who could fly to any spot on the globe. Then its Sky feature took them to other galaxies. Now Google Earth has embraced a frontier dating back 17 centuries: ancient Rome under Constantine the Great.

Soaring above a virtual reconstruction of the Forum and the Palatine Hill, or zooming into the Colosseum to get a lion’s eye view of the stands, Google Earth’s 400 million users will be able to explore the ancient capital as easily “as any city can be explored today,’’ Michael T. Jones, chief technology officer of Google Earth, said at a news conference in Rome’s city hall on Wednesday."