VIRTUAL MUSEUM: PRESERVATION AND REPRESENTATION OF HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

Information systems and their opportunities in preserving and representing historical and cultural heritage are considered in the paper. The definition of the concept of a "virtual museum" is given and the main types of virtual museums are highlighted. The author analyses the possibilities for improving access to the objects of historical and cultural heritage through preserving and representing electronic copies of their collections and metadata to them. The author also examines historical-oriented information systems related to the submission of electronic volumetric models of historical and cultural heritage objects, based on computer 3-d modeling. The paper shows that the implementation of projects and the creation of 3-d interactive virtual museums gives the opportunity to explore the exhibit more deeply and to trace the dynamics of objects and their changes over time. The article shows the essence of a virtual museum in representing virtual image reconstruction and restoring the lost fragments and completely lost objects of historical and cultural heritage. Information resources of virtual museums are considered in the paper as a part of digital cultural heritage.