Space, the final frontier, is about to be inundated with sightseers. Microsoft has unveiled a new website which brings the outer reaches of the universe to the fingertips of anyone with internet access and a computer.

The application knits together images from powerful ground and space-based telescopes across the world, allowing users to roam seamlessly across the solar system, galaxy and beyond.

The Worldwide Telescope site also offers guided tours, hosted by astronomers and academics, of galactic destinations such as the Milky Way, the Eta Carina Nebula and the darker reaches of the galaxy.

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Users can choose from a variety of telescopes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, the Spitzer Space Telescope, to access detailed images of stars, constellations and space dust normally reserved for Nasa scientists.

The free service, which can run on both PCs and Macs, also lets viewers switch between different light wavelengths, revealing structures hidden to the naked eye.

Roy Gould, a researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics - a partner in the site, said the application could have a "profound impact on the way we view the universe".

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