October 11, 2000  Fact sheet Video: Press Conference (Hi resolution ISDN) (Low resolution 28.8k)   VIRTUAL MUSEUM WILL UNITE REGION’S CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS   A powerful online resource that will link museums from Canada to Chile will be introduced in April 2001 in time for the Summit of the Americas, the Museum of the Americas Foundation announced today. The Virtual Museum of the Americas – nicknamed MuseAmericas – will precede the brick-and-mortar Museum of the Americas, which is proposed to be built on the grounds of the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. "MuseAmericas will complement and enrich our efforts to highlight the diverse cultural heritage of our region, from the Hispanic and Caribbean communities in the U.S. to the most remote areas throughout the hemisphere," said Ronald Scheman, Chairman of the Museum of the Americas Foundation and Director General of the OAS Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development. "Because this project relates to one of the main themes of the upcoming Summit of the Americas, connectivity, we have worked to be ready to launch it next April in Québec City, Canada, at the time of the meeting of the region’s presidents and prime ministers." The Virtual Museum of the Americas will include gateways for exhibitions, education, entertainment and e-commerce, covering all subjects related to the culture of the Americas – topics as diverse as history, archeology, art, food, sports and science. It will enable museums all over North, Central and South America and the Caribbean to be linked together in multiple languages. "MuseAmericas is being designed to be accessible to people of all ages and interests, whether they are university researchers, young children or armchair travelers," said Lucy Duncan, President of the Museum of the Americas Foundation. "This will be a new type of museum experience, with limitless possibilities for growth and development. Instead of bringing children to the museum, we will be able to take the museum to children right in their classrooms." Technical construction of the Virtual Museum of the Americas began in July of this year, under the direction of Telmex in Mexico. Other corporate sponsors include Microsoft, Visa International, Bacardi, Philip Morris, Stanford Financial Group, Cisco Systems, Lucent Technologies, Avaya Communication, Global Crossing, Hewlett Packard and Cisneros Educational TV. The Museum of the Americas building, a project initiated by the OAS, the Smithsonian Institution and the Inter-American Development Bank, is expected to break ground in 2005. # # #