[Aztlan] INAH and Google

[Elaine Schele]

Mexico signs agreement with Google to publicize archeology, historical sites
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS – 1 day ago

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History
signed an agreement with Google Mexico to promote archeological and
historical sites in a bid to revive tourism following the swine flu
epidemic.  The plan uses several elements of the Google platform,
including placing maps of archeological sites and directions to them
on Google Earth.  The institute has started a channel on the
video-sharing site YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/INAHTV.

The government agency said it is working on more interactive and
virtual tours, including 360-degree and rotating videos of pyramids
and other sites. The Institute's 173 archeological sites and 116
museums were closed for more than a week at the height of the swine
flu epidemic, but reopened in early May.  Tourism plunged following
the outbreak. The Tourism Department said Tuesday that occupancy rates
had fallen as low as nine to 12 per cent at the country's nine biggest
tourism sites one month ago, but has since recovered to about 43 per
cent.

The government has launched the "Vive Mexico" campaign to jump-start
tourism, the nation's third-largest source of legal foreign income.
Hotels have launched special offers and President Felipe Calderon
enacted a new tourism law that provides for better co-operation
between local and federal officials and between the government and the
private sector.

Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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