Estonia, Innovations, Internet, Technology

Phase One of the project will cost 240,000 euros, an official said on Monday.

Enterprise Estonia is planning to create a virtual reality showroom where people from Estonia and elsewhere could look at the e-solutions available in Estonia, Anna Piperal, manager of the e-Estonia Showroom run by Enterprise Estonia, told . "Virtual reality is a very good and interesting tool and as far as we know this hasn't been done on the level of a state yet," she added.

The main format of content in the showroom apparently will be 360-degree video.

"What it could look like is that when a person has entered, someone will drag them into Estonian landscapes, by leaps, so that at one moment the person will be above the Viru bog, at the next moment standing in the middle of the Song Festival Grounds, and after that near Toompea Castle where they will be able to fly into the parliament building, and then the domain of e-government will open," Piperal said speaking of the concept of the artificial environment.

Most of the service would consist of video with 3D and 2D solutions, with Estonian e-services presented in combination with the country's nature and culture.

The e-showroom would be meant for users using very simple and very sophisticated tools alike. "We want it to be available using the very cheap viewers of Google Cardboard and professional systems alike," Piperal said when asked if the service can be used with Oculus Rift, for instance.

Piperal said Enterprise Estonia has already spoken about the system of virtual reality with executives at Port of Tallinn, Tallinn Airport and Tallinn TV Tower. "We want the service to be available also in those places for people to be able to get familiar with Estonia," the manager of e-Estonia Showroom added.

The notice of public procurement tender published in the register of public procurements shows the cost of the project to be one million euros, which Piperal on Monday described as the maximum cost.

"It gives us the possibility to order additional things if we wish to go on with the service for a longer time; we want it to be in use also during the European Union presidency, for instance," she added.

"The actual investment and cost of the project in the first stage is 240,000 euros, for that money we wish to order the platform as well as 360-degree video and content," Piperal said.

It stands in the notice of public procurement that Enterprise Estonia wishes to create a virtual environment for promoting Estonia's digital image and e-solutions which entails the creation of innovative solutions embracing a website, a mobile app, videos and tools with the possibility of automatic update.

The deadline of entries is at 10 a.m. on Sept. 13.