The Virtual Gallery of the University of Oviedo (GAUDEO) has been selected by the German company Clauss, specialist in the technological field of panoramic photography, as a model of 360º and high-quality virtual tour. GAUDEO has been included on the website of the German company, next to the Google Art Project (http://www.dr-clauss.de/News_EN.htm).

Clauss is a specialised company which is leader in technology for high-resolution photography, which makes it possible to develop a complete 360º virtual tour. Its products, such as the robot's head used for taking the photographs in the Hictoric Building of the University, are used in leading projects such as the one developed by Google Art, which includes museums all over the world or the virtual gallery of Museo del Prado or Reina Sofía (http://factum-arte.com/eng/technology/clauss.asp). The company asked for permission to the University of Oviedo to include GAUDEO on its website as a potential model of this kind of technology.

GAUDEO is a cultural project which aims to disseminate and make the institution's historical and artistic heritage, which has been hoarded by the University of Oviedo throughout its 400 years of history, available to the public. Oviedo will be the first Spanish university to include a gallery like this to its website to evaluate its artistic heritage.

The project offers two options: a virtual tour through the different rooms of the historic building, most of them accessible to the public, and a gallery with 45 high-quality works of art.

The virtual tour proposed by Gaudeo Lapis covers the main rooms of the University's Historic Building with a spherical and 360º perspective. Visitors will be able to choose their tour within the building. The virtual tour through the historic head office of the University of Oviedo exposes some special sites which are usually closed to the public. This is the case of the Clocktower, from which a splendid outlook can be made out or the Central Library's headmaster's office, where the main library jewels of the University are found.

Gaudeo Arts, on the other hand, is a high-quality virtual gallery hich includes 30 paintings and graphic works, 5 sculptures, pieces of furniture and other objects. There, the visitor can see the Foundation Altarpiece of the University dated on 1607, a piece on consignment from El Prado Museum, Christ before the People, two religious panels by Rubio Camín, 9 stained glass windows from the Hictoric Building and a gallery of rectors with works, among others, by Paulino Vicente and Joaquín Vaquero Turcios.

The prestigious Asturian photographer José Ferrero has been in charge of taking the photographies which show, with a high-resolution quality, the details of each piece, with enclosed specifications. Besides, in the case of the sculptures, this application allows people to get a 3D view of the piece from all perspectives.

GAUDEO is an ambitious project, available in a bilingual version (Spanish- English), which combines innovation and culture and which has been fully developed by the university's staff, what will provide an international scope.