Maltese panoramas on the screen

The site Maltain360.com, which showcases interactive 360 photographs depicting some key locations in Malta, was first conceived by Pierre Axiaq and George Borg in late 2009, with the duo setting out to combine their twin loves of programming and photography, while also raising awareness about Malta's heritage.

"We both had this niggling feeling that a lot of Maltese people were not aware of the heritage our country can boast of. Others Maltese, although curious about their heritage, found it difficult to gain information about certain sites, or even simply the site's location," Axiaq said.

Aiming to provide a comprehensive list of images - which also come with relevant information about the site depicted - the site features a rich gallery of images running the gamut from World Heritage Sites, churches, beaches, museums and more.

Once a visitor clicks on one of the available images, they can scroll around and 'into' the picture, as if in a three-dimensional environment.

Striving to provide "an extensive online repository of interactive 360-degree images that showcase the richness of our national heritage", the site has gained momentum thanks to word of mouth and social media, and has even been employed by school teachers within the Form 1 History curriculum, serving as an aid to give students a more vivid feel of important historical sites.

The images are powered by a cocktail of OpenSource software - including GiMP, Nona, Panotools and Hugin - which allowed the creators to "make tweaks and adjustments to best suit our needs". The images are also bolstered by exact GPS coordinates and plotted on a Geographic Information System.

The site has been helped by a number of interested organisations and NGOs -including Heritage Malta, The Malta Tourism Authority, Din l-Art Helwa, The Archbishop's Curia, 'Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna', 'Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti' and 'Wirt Ghawdex' - while smaller entities such as 'Wirt Iz-Zejtun' and rabatmalta.com have also lent a helping hand.

While also enlisting the help of a group of dedicated volunteers, Axiaq is confident that the site will continue to live up to its aim of providing "not just a collection of images, but the online equivalent of actually being there".