Project to digitally capture 500 of the world's cultural heritage sites

Every once in a while a project comes along that is so worthwhile, that you wonder why it hadn't been done years ago. 

CyArk uses 3D-laser scanning and other reality-capture technologies to create a 3D-digital library of the world’s most important heritage sites.  The digital models of the sites are accurate to within 2-6mm.  The latest CyArk initiative is to digitally preserve 500 heritage sites within the next five years.  Sites that have already been captured or are underway include Ancient Thebes, Angkor, Qal'at al-Bahrain,  the cathedral of Beauvais (one of my favorites and in a perilous state so I am so glad that CyArk is doing this), Chichen Itza, Mount Rushmore, Pompeii (critical because it also is in a perilous state), Teotihuacan, the Parthenon and others.  Governments and individuals can nominate sites for preservation and donate money to support the cause here.

CyArk develops tools to aid conservators in the preservation of the sites as well as educational materials, virtual tourism, and digital iamges that are available to the public.

Thanks to Geospatial Media fro pointing me to this.