GeoSimPHILLY just launched a Beta version of a truly impressive virtual experience. The site allows you to browse the highly detailed model with varying viewpoints, from a walking perspective, to hover perspective, to flight view and in map view. The model has a number of interactive features, including the ability for human interaction, e-shopping, and virtual tours. The site may also prove helpful for city planning and local search.
I have to admit to a limitation with my current Mac setup, I wasn’t able to download and explore the model myself. The site is Windows only, so now I’ll feel motivated to install Parallels, something I’ve been meaning to do for some time.
There’s an excellent post on the KZERO Blog, which is an authority on virtual worlds. This site provides detailed screen shots of the various viewing modes, and speculates about populating the world with more comprehensive geodata.
