Egyptian Temple of Karnak virtually restored

— -- Fans of ancient Egypt can tour the famed Temple of Karnak without leaving their laptop, courtesy of a digital remake of an ancient historical site.

"Karnak is an enormous temple complex, part of the religious life of ancient Egypt for millennia," says Egyptologist Willeke Wendrich, part of the University of California-Los Angeles team behind " Digital Karnak". Online visitors can wander the three-dimensional 69-acre site, filled with temples, gateways, obelisks and 100 sphinxes, and see how the complex evolved from 1951 B.C. to 31 B.C.

The reconstruction, presented Saturday at the American Research Center in Egypt meeting in Dallas, follows online digital re-creations of Rome's Colosseum and Roman Forum as well as Pompeii's Villa of the Mysteries, all produced by a University of California-Los Angeles team. Similar Google Earth efforts, such as the University of Virginia-based "Rome Reborn" project, are aimed at scholars and history buffs alike.

"For scholars, these efforts are very valuable," says Eric Powell of Archaeology magazine. CyArk, a non-profit based in Orinda, Calif., has taken a lead in presenting similar online reconstructions of laser-scanned ruins, such as Tikal, a Maya center.

"To really teach about these places, we have to get beyond flat maps on a flat screen," says Diane Favro, a "Digital Karnak" team member.