People around the world will now be able to virtually explore the interiors of the Taj Mahal and other Indian monuments through 360-degree online imagery called Street View.

The first such imagery of 30 iconic heritage sites, such as the Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort and Agra Fort, was released on Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute here on Thursday by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Google India.

This is the first step towards bringing more of India’s national monuments online, and Google and ASI look forward to announcing when additional imagery of heritage sites will be available on Google Maps and the Google Cultural Institute,” a Google release said.

“We hope the imagery will help make India’s heritage and culture more accessible to people at home and abroad,” said Rajan Anandan, Vice-President and Managing Director, Google India.