Virtual Travel: Is There More to it Than ‘Staring at Our Own Roofs’?

In the Independent, Clare Rudebeck takes a look at how far “virtual travel” options have come since we all first used Google Earth to check out our own homes a few years back—and ponders their limitations, too.

“In the last two months, technology titans from Google to IBM have put in a concerted effort to convince us that there is more to virtual travel than staring at our own roofs. And they’re spending a lot of money in the attempt,” she writes. “...but can exploring the virtual world really give us the same sense of wonder, fulfilment and utter exasperation that real tourism delivers? What is travel without lost baggage, stomach bugs and hours spent trying to work out how to use your camera?”

©2009 World Hum, All Rights Reserved