3-D COMPANY HEADS FOR THE INTERNET WITH ICONIC IMAGES.Byline: Ben Sullivan Daily News Staff Writer If 3-D computer graphics specialist Synthonics Technologies has its way, visions of the Virgin Mary Virgin Mary: see Mary. Virgin Mary immaculately conceived; mother of Jesus Christ. [N.T.: Matthew 1:18–25; 12:46–50; Luke 1:26–56; 11:27–28; John 2; 19:25–27] See : Purity and various saints no longer will be limited to Central European peasants and children in remote Mexican towns. In a deal the company says will gross it more than $1 million, Synthonics has begun delivering digitized, three-dimensional replicas of 3,000 rare wood carvings wood carving, as an art form, includes any kind of sculpture in wood, from the decorative bas-relief on small objects to life-size figures in the round, furniture, and architectural decorations. The woods used vary greatly in hardness and grain. of Catholic saints to Centro Alameda Alameda (ăləmē`də, –mā`də), city (1990 pop. 76,459), Alameda co., W central Calif., on an island just off the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay; settled 1850, inc. as a city 1884. , a San Antonio-based affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution, research and education center, at Washington, D.C.; founded 1846 under terms of the will of James Smithson of London, who in 1829 bequeathed his fortune to the United States to create an establishment for the "increase and diffusion of . As completed, the dimensionally accurate and fully rotatable ro·tate v. ro·tat·ed, ro·tat·ing, ro·tates v.intr. 1. To turn around on an axis or center. 2. images will be posted for viewing and study on the Internet. The statues are part of the museum's ``Santos'' collection of carvings of Catholic icons. Synthonics' technology wraps two-dimensional photographs of an object taken from various angles around a virtual, 3-D wire-mesh frame. It is a technology that has its roots in the Cold War, but one Synthonics hopes to turn into an entertainment moneymaker. ``Other companies can put 3-D images on the Net, but no one can do it with this sort of detail,'' said Synthonics founder Charles Palm. With the final Centro Alameda project, viewers will be able to zoom in and out, make precise measurements of objects and even ``peel away'' layers of the carvings to show their inner structure, he said. A statue of Our Lady of Sorrow, for example, has tiny daggers emerging from the figure's heart. Using the Synthonics technology, Internet viewers can remove the weapons to see the statue dagger-free, Palm said. The Centro Alameda deal is the first in a series of agreements between the Smithsonian and Synthonics. The museum has hired Synthonics to create a consumer-oriented CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). containing 3-D replicas of a portion of the Smithsonian's sprawling art and historic objects collection. The CD-ROM is scheduled to be completed this fall. Last week Synthonics said it had won a patent to automatically convert standard movies into enhanced, 3-D films. The company hopes to convert blockbusters such as ``Star Wars'' to 3-D to allow film companies to re-release and generate new revenue from the titles. Synthonics shares closed unchanged Tuesday at 62.5 cents. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos PHOTO (1-3--Color) no caption (Santos Santos (sän`t  s), city (1996 pop. 412,288), São Paulo state, SE Brazil, on the island of São Vicente in the Atlantic just off the mainland. )
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