Google is getting artsy. The virtual trailblazing company recently launched Google Open Gallery, a new online tool to allow museums, galleries and individuals to create online art exhibitions.

It's part of Google's overall cultural initiative that includes a larger umbrella -- the Google Cultural Institute, "which has partnered with major art organizations around the world to put content online." Another art-related service, "Google Art Project, allows museums to upload high-resolution images of artwork for public viewing," the LA Times reports.

Last week, Google Open Gallery, which features a number of viewer tools, including search, filter and zoom functions, became available for public use. In order to use the free service, potential users must request an invitation from Google to use it.

"The new application will allow galleries, museums and other individuals to upload content and create virtual exhibitions and tours. It also enables organizations to publish a new site or add on to an existing site," according to the LA Times. "In addition, the service provides users the capability of adding background information that visitors would normally see at an actual exhibition."

In hopes to connect artists around the globe and further expand artistic websites, Google's new virtual medium, Google Open Gallery, featured 45 exhibitions from institutions and individuals around the world.

In addition to the Belgian Comic Strip Center, many museums are on board with the idea. So far, Google Art Project has teamed up with numerous museums including major local institutions such as the Getty Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. 

Take a look at how the Belgian Comic Strip Center is enjoying the benefits of the Google Open Gallery:

Google's cultural exterprise also includes seven new online exhibitions via the Google Cultural Institute, which are now available online in the "Spanish Legacy in the United States of America" collection. Material was contributed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Naval Museum of Madrid and the Casa de América.

"The Spanish legacy in the United States is the result of over three centuries of exploration and settlement, and the presence of a culture influenced by the viceroyalty of New Spain established in Mexico. Many of the initiatives of the Spanish Crown left their mark on US culture, economy, religion and art, as well as in place names," according to the Google Cultural Institute's description. "The Spanish contribution to the Independence of the United States of America and the discovery and exploration of the Pacific -- an early example of globalization -- are also an aspect of this legacy. Visitors to the collections exhibited here will find a series of examples that reflect this continuing historical legacy."

Also featured as part of the Google Culture Institute is Brazil's Instituto Moreira Salles, "a singular institution within the Brazilian cultural scene" that "holds important assets in four areas: photography, with the bulk of material, as well as music, literature, and iconography," 

Google's virtual artisitc endeavor hasn't been embraced by all, however.

"Google's cultural initiatives have been met with some skepticism, especially in France, where leaders regard the U.S. company as a threat to local culture," the LA Times notes.

On Dec. 10, the Google Cultural Institute went from virtual to physical by opening an actual building, housing Google's Paris headquarters. Open to "students, artists, curators, and other figures of the cultural world," Google also hopes for it to be "an extension of its Google Art Project" as well as a center for conferences, debates, a showroom for technology, and a space for contemporary art exhibitions. 

It would be an understatement to say that Google's new project in France didn't receive a warm welcome -- in "a country that has tended to see the American technology group as something of a cultural predator," according to the Guardian.

Culture minister, Aurélie Filippetti, who promised to inaugurate the institute, cancelled at the last minute.

"Despite the quality of the projects concerned, I don't wish to appear as a guarantee for an operation that still raises a certain number of questions," Filipetti reportedly said.

The ambitious project started with 17 museums and galleries across the world including the Tate in London and MoMA in New York. It has about 300 collaborating art institutions and holds high-definition images of 53,000 works of art. In France, the Palace of Versailles and the Musée d'Orsay were among the first to join, the Guardian adds.

Additionally, the Google Cultural Institute in Paris will also feature the "Lab", an art project which will invite artists in residence and be equipped with a giant screen, a 3D camera, printer and other digital tools. 

"French ministers have expressed concern about Google's "optimization" of tax breaks, its failure to address pirate internet sites, copyright, the protection of internet users' personal details and what is seen as unfair competition with French technological sites," the Guardian reports.