AROUNDER WEBSITE LAUNCHES WITH LUGANO, SWITZERLAND. New travel and tourism site launches with sixty 360-degree panoramas of Lugano, Switzerland, complete with city and area information, maps directories and fullscreen In-mages.

VRWAY Communication is proud to announce the launch of AROUNDER, a concept that combines 360-degree panoramas with television promotion on the EuroNews channel. The first feature is the beautiful lakeside city of Lugano, Switzerland, featuring panoramas of this lovely city nestled against a lake and surrounded by mountains.

The essence of AROUNDER is the panorama, or In-mage. AROUNDER plans to produce 39 features per year distributed on the Internet, and broadcast on TV by the EuroNews broadcast channel. Customers can also have their In-mages printed in magazine format and DVDs

AROUNDER, published on the Internet and broadcast on television, epitomizes the old axiom that a picture speaks a thousand words. Take the city of Lugano: What better way to promote this picturesque jewel in the Italian canton of Ticino than through 60 panoramas, many in fullscreen and linked with internal hotspots for seamless navigation? Potential visitors to this lovely area can read about the attractions while browsing the panoramas through directories and maps.

]We are incredibly excited about AROUNDER and the feedback we've received, says Marco Trezzini, VRWAY founder and Head of R&D. We've signed several contracts already, with more in the pipeline. It's the perfect vehicle for tourism, bringing the beauty and special features of a city or region to a wide audience in a very evocative and attention-getting fashion. I'm thrilled that our hometown of Lugano, Switzerland will be the focus of the first AROUNDER issue as I'm well-acquainted with its renowned charms.

AROUNDER will publish each of its 39 issues on the Internet via the AROUNDER.com website with interactive and immersive In-mages and maps, along with relevant stories and descriptions that provide all information pertinent to the region or city of subject. It also connects viewers, via an html link, to further related sites where the viewer may book travel arrangements, find more product information or explore related subjects. The main content is based upon the In-mages, shot by AROUNDER's in-house professional photographer, Giuseppe Pennisi.

EuroNews, the leading pan-European news channel, reaches 3.9 million cable and satellite viewers every day, and an additional 1.4 million through terrestrial windows. It reaches 124 million households in 77 countries. EuroNews can be viewed in the most prestigious European hotels, at airports, railway stations, on PDS's, onboard leading airlines and around the world on it's companion website, EuroNews.net. Arounder has secured primetime commercial spots that will broadcast each issue in a distinctive and visually arresting way -- with panorama In-mages. [3z's log: The Ultimate Virtual Reality linksite.]
>home:chezmax.com >keywords: soul, spiritual, spirituality, exploration, holistic, healing, jung, lugano, switzerland, virtual, swisspresence, vrway, venue, exhibit >submit by: Massimo D'Onofrio [Max's log: the ultimate spiritual exploration linksite.]
8:47:17 PM    

THE TAJ MAHAL. The Taj truly is a poem... It is not only a pure architectural type, but also a creation, which satisfies the imagination, because its characteristic is Beauty. Did you ever build a Castle in the Air? Here is one, brought down to earth, and fixed for the wonder of ages; yet so light it seems, so airy, and when seen from a distance, so like a fabric of mist and sunbeams, with its great dome soaring up, a silvery bubble, about to burst in the sun, that, even after you have touched it, and climbed to its summit, you almost doubt its reality.[per thou] Bayard Taylor, journalist and novelist, after his visit to the Taj Mahal in 1850.

In December 1631, the fifth Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan commenced the construction of one of the greatest monuments of all time, the Taj Mahal. It is a mausoleum built in the memory of his beloved and favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, fulfilling one of the promises that he made to her as she lay on her deathbed. The first was never to father another child, and the second was to erect a monument to match her beauty.[per thou] So begins one of the narratives on the truly one-of-a-kind interactive website, Explore The Taj-Mahal, developed by the Armchair Travel Company .

The site is a feast for the senses: 360-degree panoramas capture the beauty and architecture of this world wonder; short narratives give the viewer perspective and context; movies and text add depth for those hungry for deeper knowledge -- learn about preservation efforts, Islamic decorative schemes, even Princess Diana's visit in 1992. The amount of information available on the site is extensive, yet not overwhelming, because it is so well organized and offered in a thoughtful manner. The deeper one digs, the more information one finds, offered in a choice of delivery.

Upon entering the site, viewers are greeted with a colored map of the structure and grounds. Red dots represent interactive panoramas and rolling over one brings up the title of the pano. Clicking on the dot opens the pano within the same window and as one scrolls left or right, a blue circle with an arrow around the red dot simultaneously displays the viewer's perspective within the map. Hotspots within the panos allow the viewer to jump to another pano.

Panoramas are available in QuickTime or Java. Each panorama has an option to listen to a narrative of the scene or read the short transcript. Each panorama is also accompanied by several movies that delve deeper into some aspect of the architecture or history. For instance, the Cenotaph pano has six accompanying movies, one of which describes the doubled skin architecture of the main dome, complete with drawings and close up photographs. Another movie, for the same pano, is about the calligraphy and inscriptions in the main cenotaph, while yet another discusses Lord Curzon's Brass Lamp, which hangs above the tombs in the mausoleum.

The image of the Taj Mahal is perfectly reflected in the central water tank, which is also known as the 'celestial pool of abundance'. The Taj Mahal is split into three sections and the forecourt is the second in importance. The other two sections are; the main mausoleum area, or Taj proper; and the bustling Taj Ganj, which actually lies outside of the smaller gate. The imposing sandstone gateway is the main entrance into the mausoleum and the Qur'anic calligraphic inscriptions around the doorframe are inviting the visitor into the gardens of Paradise. Two royal tombs are situated here including that of Satti-a-Nisa-Khurram, a favorite lady-in-waiting of Mumtaz Mahal, in the southwest corner,[per thou] one of the movies informs me.

The site is a must-visit for tourists and anyone interested in this historic structure; students, in particular, will enjoy the site and the ability to learn interactively. In fact, the website has won numerous awards and accolades from teachers' groups and London newspapers and architecture magazines. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching calls it inspirational, and The Daily Mail, London calls it "THE most sophisticated virtual tour... You can almost hear your footsteps reverberate around the rooms." William Beckett, Armchair Travel's director of business and marketing claims that to see and hear everything on the Web site would take over two hours.

Although a couple of free panoramas are available, viewing of the complete site requires payment of a US $3.00 charge, which allows lifetime access to both the Taj Mahal and Kew Gardens site. (Schools are charged $10 for the entire school.) All major credit cards are accepted as well as BT[base ']s [OE]Click and Buy[base ']. I paid by credit card and the whole process, including receipt of my password, took about one minute. The Web site is now available in English, French, Japanese and Hindi, and will soon offer a Chat and Tour function where members can chat to others online while they tour the site.

Related Articles: An Interview with Armchair Travel. Armchair Travel's Experience with Micropayments. [3z's log: The Ultimate Virtual Reality linksite.]
>home:chezmax.com >keywords: soul, spiritual, spirituality, exploration, holistic, healing, jung, lugano, switzerland, virtual, swisspresence, vrway, venue, exhibit >submit by: Massimo D'Onofrio [Max's log: the ultimate spiritual exploration linksite.]
8:41:38 PM    

The Five Types of Dreams. According to Gillian Kemp, author of "The Dream Book", there are five different types of dreams: Ordinary, lucid, telepathic, premonitory, and nightmare. They often blend and merge with one another....Read more.... [Psychology] [Psychology Society's Radio Weblog]
>home:chezmax.com >keywords: soul, spiritual, spirituality, exploration, holistic, healing, jung, lugano, switzerland, virtual, swisspresence, vrway, venue, exhibit >submit by: Massimo D'Onofrio [Max's log: the ultimate spiritual exploration linksite.]
1:18:27 AM    

In Archimedes' Puzzle, a New Eureka Moment. A historian of mathematics appears to have solved the mystery of a treatise written 2,200 years ago by Archimedes. By Gina Kolata. [New York Times: Education] [Psychology Society's Radio Weblog]
>home:chezmax.com >keywords: soul, spiritual, spirituality, exploration, holistic, healing, jung, lugano, switzerland, virtual, swisspresence, vrway, venue, exhibit >submit by: Massimo D'Onofrio [Max's log: the ultimate spiritual exploration linksite.]
1:16:32 AM