Hey! Wanna See Tony’s House?

This is very cool. A virtual tour of 10 Downing Street, the official residence of British Prime Ministers for many, many years. It is very well done, too.

Users get a 360-degree perspective of each of the public areas, can zoom in on works of art and find out fascinating facts about the interior design.

Welcoming the launch of the tour, Tony Blair said:

"This is an excellent way of showing the tremendous history of this building. I feel very lucky to live and work here and if we can share just a fraction of the fascination of this extraordinary place, then this tour will entrance a great many people online."

A Downing Street spokesperson added:

"This year has seen the Downing Street website grow and develop - with the introduction of podcasts, e-petitions and more online interviews and webchats. In 2007 we will build on these initiatives, with greater interactivity and access for the public to the work of the Prime Minister."

Aral Balkan, the founder and director of Ariaware, and a renowned expert in the field developed the tour. He used the latest Flash multimedia software (although a Flash-free version of the tour is also available).

A historical time waster!