Google Chrome Experiment takes you on a journey through Middle Earth

Ever wonder what it would be like to get a closer, deeper look at Middle Earth beyond just what we can see in the movies or the basic maps that can be found in the books? That’s exactly what Google’s latest Chrome experiment is all about.

This unique experiment basically is an interactive map of the entire Middle Earth, and is a collaboration with Warner Brothers to promote the upcoming movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Matched with beautiful music, the map allows you to zoom in to certain parts of Middle-Earth further exploring areas such as Dol Guldur by simply clicking on them.

Not only will you be presented with a bit of information about each location you click on, you can further explore them by switching to a close-up first person view. Each different location includes its own unique mini-game of sorts.

Right now only a select number of locations are available, with the rest locked. No word on how to unlock new areas just yet.

While this entire Chrome experiment is certainly a bit of a marketing ploy, that doesn’t make it any less amazing — especially if you are a big Lord of the Rings or Hobbit fan (which I happen to be).

As expected with Chrome experiments, all the visuals were built with all sorts of bleeding-edge web technologies, specifically the 3D graphics were built using CSS3 and WebGL. What really makes this Chrome experiment stand out though is that the 3D experience is also fully available for the Android version of Chrome.

To check out the experiment, you’ll want to head over to goo.gl/TheHobbit. For those that have already played around with the map, what do you think?