Mr. Mike Nelson of Google Asia-Pacific (left) and Mr. Manik Gupta (right) of Google Maps explain reporters about the street view technology in Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, 2014. (Khoun Theara/VOA Khmer)
Virtual Google Tours of Angkor Wat Comes Online
PHNOM PENH —
Google Street View has come to the temples of Angkor Wat. The company announced the launch of its ground-level view service in Siem Reap province on Thursday.
It will allow virtual visits to many of the temples in the ancient complex, the product of more than a year of work, Divon Lan, a senior Google staff member, said.
Mr. Manik Gupta of Google Maps (left) explains the street view technology in at Angkor Wat temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, 2014. (Khoun Theara/VOA Khmer)
Angkor Wat “is the biggest religious site in the world, so this very important heritage site in the global scale,” he said. “This is part of the information that we want to bring to everyone in the world.”
Street View users can now visit 100 temples and sculptures around Angkor Wat, via a 360-degree perspective. The new initiative adds to ground-level views of the Taj Mahal, in India, and Mt. Fuji, Japan.
Bun Narith, director general of the Apsara Authority, which administers Angkor Wat on behalf of the government, said he he hopes the project will help attract even more tourists to the temples. Cambodia welcomed 4.2 million tourists last year, many of whom visited Angkor Wat.
Mr. Bun Narith, General Director of APSARA Authority welcomes Google's street view technology for Angkor at the launch ceremony at the Le Meridien Angkor hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, 2014. (Khoun Theara/VOA Khmer)
“We hope that when people see these temples online, some of them will be interested in witnessing the temples in person,” he said.
