Google and Lego launch brick building for your browser
Satisfy your bricktitis with this official virtual Lego playset compatible with most modern Web browsers.
Find yourself a little bored at work, or maybe want to embark on a half-hour adventure away from the norm?
Wander over to Build, a virtual Lego play set placed upon a Google Maps view of the land Down Under. The interactive Web site, perfect for amateur architects, uses 3D graphics powered by WebGL -- supported by most modern browsers such as Chrome and Firefox (Internet Explorer 9, however, provided a nonfunctional experience).
To start, each user picks a plot of land in Australia or New Zealand. Builders choose from 12 different basic brick styles, as well as a door and window. The opportunities seem slightly limited with such a small selection of bricks, but at least you can choose from a range of prismatic hues.
Google product marketing manager Lockey McGrath noted that the Lego/Google Maps mashup might come to other areas soon. "We're launching first in Australia and New Zealand and hope to open up in other countries soon," McGrath wrote on the Google Australia blog. "This year is the 50th anniversary of the LEGO brick in Australia and Build joins the celebration of the LEGO Festival of Play online."
McGrath also pointed out an amusing collection of already made places from the Build world, such as "medieval castles to sea snakes, giant mouse cursors to smiling monsters and even a Kiwi."
(Via Reddit Gaming)