If you've ever watched those shows on the Discovery Channel that bring ancient cities

such as Persepolis back to life via digital technology and found yourself shouting

at your TV "Hey, why don't you do that for Angkor?" then fret no more-pixel

by pixel, it is finally underway.

American Tom Chandler came to Cambodia back in 2001 and was captivated by what he

saw. He worked on an archeological dig there and then moved on to graduate studies

at Monash University in Australia.

There, with support from the university's IT faculty and the Monash Asia Institute,

Chandler began work on a project called "Visualizing Angkor" which to date

has produced some short, computer generated, animated depictions of elephants, and

guards walking out of Angkor Wat (image above).

Chandler says one goal of the project is to encourage young Cambodian animators and

3D artists to get involved. In this regard, he says his colleague John Weeks will

open a 3D animation school in Phnom Penh next month. Inquiries about Visualizing

Angkor can be sent to: [email protected]