On 19 January 2006 the 2005 Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of culture was presented to staff of the State Hermitage for the project "The Hermitage in Virtual Space."

Since 1995, the State Hermitage has had its own Internet site in the worldwide web. During the course of its 10 year existence, the Hermitage website has undergone numerous modifications which have improved and developed this cultural resource. One significant event was the joint project of the State Hermitage and IBM Corporation (1997-1999), which brought about changes in the design of pages, created new functional templates, introduced new search technologies, and developed a navigation of the website. Today the Hermitage website www.hermitagemuseum.org is a resource with worldwide renown on a par with the sites of the best known museums of the world like the Louvre (Paris, France), the Metropolitan Museum (New York, USA), and the British Museum (London, UK). The achievements of the State Hermitage website have been repeatedly recognized not only by institutions conferring internet awards but also by the directors of the aforementioned museums during annual meetings devoted to discussion of the role of IT in museum life.

Among the honorary awards received thus far are: "Best Museum Site in Russia," National Intel Prize (2000); "Best Russian Site", Grand Prix, National Intel Prize (2000); "Best in the Top Ten Museum Sites of the World," Archives & Informatics Museum (2000); "Best Site in the Category – Innovative Art and Museums," National Intel Prize (2002); "Best Site in the Category – Web-Art” at the international competition F@IMP," San Paolo, Brazil (2002).

The project "The Hermitage in Virtual Space" comprises the creation, permanent development and addition of new information in three sections: "Virtual Tour," "Digital Collection," and “Gallery of Three-dimensional Images." They are all united around a single idea: to make it possible to visit the museum from home, even if one is situated on another continent of the planet.

The section on "Virtual Tours" allows someone to "virtually" visit the State Hermitage. At the basis of the show is the technology for presenting a panoramic (360 degree) image of a room displayed on the user’s monitor. By referring to the floor plans (or to the list of exhibitions), an internet visitor can wander through more than 150 exhibition rooms of the complex of buildings in the State Hermitage and “be present” in a tour based on 400 descriptions of rooms and the most interesting exhibits.

The section on the "Digital Collection" is directed at art lovers. Here the user can become acquainted in detail with more than 8000 of the best works in the collections of the State Hermitage. For the digital processing of the images, a professional three-part scanner from IBM was used. The user has access to a unique function for zooming in on areas of an image. This technology serves not only to enhance convenience for the user, but also is intended to protect against unauthorized copying of images belonging to the State Hermitage. This objective is also served by the technology for imparting an invisible water mark, which is present on every image that can be enlarged within the “Digital Collection.” The section has a variety of search methods making it possible to carry out a search according to a variety of attributes of an art work.

The methodology of three-dimensional presentation of art works was developed as an alternative way of showing off museum items, letting the viewer see the object from all sides. Virtual exhibitions prepared on the basis of this technology were brought together in the section "Gallery of Three-dimensional Images," which offers 14 virtual exhibitions based on more than 130 animated films. The displays include objects of applied art and buildings of the museum’s palace complex, as well as the working principles of complex mechanisms and the operational processes relating to the raising of the Alexander Column on Palace Square.

In 1999 the number of individual visitors to the Hermitage website averaged 2,500 - 3,000 people per day. By 2002 the State Hermitage site was visited by 5,500 - 7,000 users daily. At the present time, the average number is 9,000 - 10,000 unique visitors daily. Every year the bricks and mortar Hermitage receives more than 2,600,000 visitors to its premises. A further 2,400,000 individual users in the worldwide web spend time on the website of the State Hermitage.

Among the recipients of the 2005 Prize of the RF Government in the Field of Culture are:

A.A. Grigoriev, director of the Sector of Computer Technology of the State Hermitage and director of the project;
R.V. Shabaltas, leading electronics specialist in the Sector of Computer Technology of the State Hermitage;
V.D. Zubarov, senior researcher of the Sector of Computer Technology of the State Hermitage;
E.S. Kalinovskaya, senior researcher of the Sector of Computer Technology of the State Hermitage;
I.A. Melnikova, senior researcher of the Hospitality Service of the State Hermitage.