which will be used to create a three dimensional electronic model.

Ministry of Works and Engineering spokesman Ton Viney told The Royal Gazette that the finished product would provide "a huge benefit for the public and private sectors alike''.

"It's potential is boundless,'' he added.

The process is about "attaching attributable data to spatial data'', he continued.

The electronic map will form the basis for a geographical information system (GIS) for the Island which will be able to connect with other databases and allow speedy access to a wide variety of geographically coded information.

The project is being sponsored through a variety of Government departments including Works and Engineering, Environment, Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo and the Bermuda Land Development Company.

These organisations split the cost which Mr. Viney refused to reveal.

Nine by nine inch photographs are being taken by a special camera mounted in the fuselage of a Piper Aztec turbocharged twin engined aircraft.

The camera is capable of photographing images at a very wide angle from great heights.

High detail photos are being taken at 1,500 feet of the former base lands for the BLDC and others are being taken at 5,000 feet which will be used to update Government's large scale maps and develop the Island's GIS.

More pictures are being snapped at 15,000 feet and these will cover the entire Island as well as the surrounding waters.

BAMZ curator Jack Ward said this would provide a map of Bermuda's habitats as they currently exist and extend the GIS to cover the reef and shallow water areas.

This ties in with the present initiative for a bio-diversity study of Bermuda which included noting the Island's organisms and where they were found.