In November 1998, our companies Founder Jim Long saw the need or demand to capture not only an accurate visual representation of travel destinations like hotels and restaurants but the atmosphere of these venues as well. That notion lay dormant through 1999 then in the spring of 2000 he saw his first Flash site. The notion gave birth to an idea. The way to supply that demand was to create a virtual tour that captured both the motion and sounds of these places so the viewer could experience a realistic feel of the atmosphere. In December 2001, JB Studios in Dallas Texas became the World’s first Animated Virtual Tour. Like the first of anything, we had a long way to go. Jim hired many different designers (Matt, Tom, Andrew and David(webmaster)) from all over America each with their own input. Finally, in February 2004, the final piece of the puzzle was set and the result of this combined effort is what makes A Virtual America possible. We hope you enjoy the site!