Grand Theft Philadelphia, courtesy of virtual world GeoSimPhilly : Tech Digest

Fancy going to Philadelphia for free? And without leaving the house? That's the AMAZING FUTURISTIC POSSIBILITY opened up by GeoSimPHILLY - an extremely realistic online representation of Philadelphia.

The makers of virtual Philadelphia combined aerial photos, pics and laser scans to create this extremely realistic version of "Philly" - one that includes the entire centre of the city for you to enjoy, right down to bikes chained to lampposts and the odd sickeningly patriotic American flag.

Once in, you're able to walk or fly around the city (sounds a little bit familiar) while talking to other virtual Philadelphians about the city. Or, more likely, about if they're a girl and if they have a webcam and what they're doing later. The About Us page of the project's site features a section on how to advertise with them, just in case you thought this was some sort of charity project.

You will now spend the rest of the day humming that Bruce Springsteen song. Sorry about that.

(Via Yanko Design)