Google brings trans-Siberian railway experience to your computer

LONDON - Google has launched a virtual train that spans over world’s longest trans-Siberian railway, covering a distance 5,600-miles, crossing seven time zones and passing through 87 towns and cities before arriving in distant Vladivostok.

During the 150-hour journey, users can pass the time listening to audio books of Russian classics - such as Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace or Nikolai Gogol’s Dead Souls. f sitting through the entire trip is a bit much, users can navigate to a specific area, The Telegraph reports.

Multimedia stop-offs include a virtual stroll around Yekaterinburg, oil prospecting in Tyumen, reciting Buddhist mantras in Ulan-Ude or hearing the sound of the cannons on Russkiy Island, the country’s most eastern outpost.

“We want to demonstrate how unusual and fascinating Russia really is and how much it can offer to a curious tourist,” Konstantin Kuzmin, marketing director for Google Russia, said.

“I know few people who have travelled along the Trans-Siberian railroad but I am sure that a lot of people feel enthusiastic about this trip. That’s why we hope that this project will become the starting point not only for the virtual but also for the real trips across Russia,” he added.

The historic railway was constructed between 1891 to 1916 and connected Russia’s administrative centre with its Far Eastern provinces. (ANI)