ROME — The opportunity to walk virtually through the wonders of Pompeii is a powerful way to boost Italian tourism.

If you can’t be one of the 2.5 million tourists who wander through the streets of Pompeii every year, you now have another option: Google’s Street View.

The 360-degree panoramic street-level service debuted last week in the Statues, temples, amphitheaters, as well as close-up views of houses, bakeries and baths are now visible on the search engine’s free mapping service.

With just a few clicks, you can easily take a tour of ancient Rome, enter Egypt’s Great Pyramid or climb the Acropolis in Greece.

The problem is that too often these computer reconstructions look the same. As you move your mouse around, you are taken into unrealistic, clean, lifeless, plastic-coated landscapes.

Google’s Street View application offers a much more realistic and lively experience, making you feel as if you were walking down a street among many other tourists.

Launched in 2007, Google’s Street View provides panoramic street-level views of more than 100 cities around the world. And now you can find the ancient Pompeii as well.

About The Author

Blast correspondent Luna Moltedo is an Italian art expert and journalist based in Rome

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