All of this talk about virtual museums is really just a continuation of
the same old arguments -- is the object sacred?  Walter Benjamin, for
one, was considering this long before there was any such thing as
"virtual reality."  It should not be an either/or question but rather,
museums should consider virtual space as a way to broaden their audience
and bring new attention to the "real" thing.
 
Denise Meringolo (c/o Kevin Tucker)
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History