Integration of virtual reality and database systems for cultural heritage dissemination

This paper deals with the development of interactive Virtual Reality (VR) environments. We argue that the integration of such environments with Database (DB) technology has the potential of providing on one side much flexibility and, on the other hand, of resulting in enhanced interfaces for accessing contents from digital archives. The paper discusses the main issues related to such integration. It also describes two projects related to the use of advanced tools for the dissemination of Cultural Heritage (CH) content. Within these projects an integrated framework has been developed that enhances conventional VR environments with DB interactions.