Taking a virtual voyage into history

Visitors to the Natural History Museum in London will tomorrow be invited on a virtual voyage with the 18th-century explorer Captain James Cook in an experiment which could foreshadow the future of museum galleries.

The exhibit, open until 31 August, uses 3D computer generation to recreate the voyage of the captain's ship HMS Endeavour, during which he discovered New Zealand. Using a joystick, visitors will be able to navigate the interior of a 3D reconstruction of the vessel. Entitled "Virtual Endeavour", the exhibit is financed by the European Commission. An Internet site showing scenes from the exhibition is accessible on http://www.nhm.ac.uk/SICMA/promo.