Australian museums join global web archive

Thousands of Australian cultural artefacts are now a few clicks away as Google Street View goes inside the country's top museums.

Virtual online tours and digitised artefacts will be drawn from the Australian War Memorial, Sydney's Powerhouse Museum and 12 other cultural organisations from around the country.

Aboriginal paintings, Gold Rush artefacts and tours inside tanks from the World Wars have joined the Google Cultural Institute, which launched its Australian project on Tuesday.

"Students in rural and remote Australia will be able to see and study many of these items for the very first time," Google Australia boss Maile Carnegie said.

"This partnership also makes it possible for billions of people around the world to learn more about Australian art and history."

The museums will join London's Tate Modern and New York's Museum of Modern Art in the digital institute.

AUSTRALIAN MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS JOIN THE GOOGLE CULTURAL INSTITUTE

NATIONAL:

* Australian War Memorial (including Street View tour)

* National Museum of Australia (including Street View tour)

* National Portrait Gallery

* Australian National Maritime Museum

* Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House

NSW:

* Powerhouse Museum

* State Library of NSW

* Australian Museum

* Biennale of Sydney (StreetView tour of Cockatoo Island 2014 venue)

* Bondi's Sculpture by the Sea (StreetView tour)

QLD:

* Queensland Museum (including Street View tour)

* Queensland Performing Arts Centre

VIC:

* Public Records Office Victoria (Victorian Archives Centre)

* Australian Centre for the Moving Image