Information technology and science: Underwater panoramas of the Great Barrier Reef to be published in the web

Google will conduct an underwater survey of the Great Barrier Reef. Pictures will be combined into spherical panoramas and posted online.

The expedition will launch in September 2012. Up to30 meters deep shooting will be done by the apparatus specially designed for the project ("underwater scooters"), operated by divers. This will be robots to immerse to the depth of 30 to 100 feet.

The footage - panoramas, photos and videos - will be posted on Panoramio and Google Street View, YouTube and on the website of the project.

Seaview Survey Project was announced at the International Summit of the Ocean, launched February 22 in Singapore.

The project aims not only to publish panoramas, but also to study the Great Barrier Reef.

Organisers have already conducted a few test dives. The obtained images have been "glued" together into panoramas and available on the web.

The Great Barrier Reef stretches along the northeast coast of Australia. Its length, according to various estimates, is from 2300 to 2500 kilometers. It consists of shallow reefs and coral islands, which together form the world's largest system of coral polyps.