clipped from: www.theage.com.au   
Virtual tour of art masterpieces
Zoom with a view … a detail of Las Meninas from Google Earth.
For the first time, the Google Earth mapping program has been adapted to allow armchair art lovers to "fly" to a world-famous museum, drop through the roof and examine the masterpieces on display in almost microscopic detail.

A zoom function allows users to "crawl across" the surface of the painting and fill their screen with a single brushstroke or fissure. Because some of the works are so large - Titian's portrait of Emperor Charles V measures 3.3 metres by 2.8 metres, for example - a visitor using Google Earth will be able to see far more detail than someone standing directly in front of the painting.