Nintendo 3DS for Louvre tourists

VISITORS to the Louvre can learn about the Old Masters with an innovative audio-visual guide provided on Nintendo's 3DS handheld console.

The gaming device has replaced the Paris museum's old electronic tour devices and allows visitors to see where they are at any moment on the map using the gadget's dual screens.

And, despite the jump to state-of-the-art technology the prices for tours are being reduced from €6 to €5 (or €3 for children).

Through the Nintendo visitors can listen to interviews with curators and lecturers and get descriptions of more than 700 objects.

There are two specific tours: Masterpieces, which looks at works such as Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo, and Egypt for all the family.

Its '3D without glasses' screen can also show interactive animations, 3D models of major works and 3D images of the museum spaces, as well as HD photos to accompany the commentary.

Nintendo vice-president Shinji Hatano said: "This is a world first for a museum as we have only experimented with the concept in art galleries in Japan."

The company has given 1,500 consoles to the Louvre, with 3,500 more on the way.