LIVE pictures of Bermuda are being beamed around the world via television and the internet thanks to a camera mounted on the island by a German television company.

The harbour vista, which has already been featured on the cable news channel BBC World, features Front Street and Hamilton, viewed from a rooftop.

Bermuda is one of 41 locations all over the world featured on the Earth Television Network web site. Browsers can see live pictures from a wide range of sites including New York, Hong Kong, Niagara Falls, Sydney, Vienna and Dubai.

At the click of a mouse, it is also possible to play a "time lapse" video, compressing 24 hours from the camera's viewpoint into 60 seconds.

Unfortunately the web site seems to be a little mixed up with its geography in its description of the camera's location as "Hamilton, Bermudas, USA".

Earth Television Network is based in Munich and the pictures from their "Our World ? Live on TV" project appear on 21 television channels around the globe.

Earth Television network spokesman Frank Schneider was overseas on business yesterday and we were unable to contact him.

The site invites viewers of the Hamilton pictures to "witness the traffic and the people walking down the main street.

"In spring and summer, all kinds of parades and festivals happen here weekly and the harbour hosts Christmas boat parades and international races.

"As the camera moves on, we see to the right of the harbour the historical site of Hamilton with the famous Fort Hamilton."

We were unable to ascertain the exact location of the camera.

A spokesperson for the Department of Tourism welcomed the camera as an "awareness builder".

"It is unclear how long the camera has been in Bermuda and how long it will remain," she added. "However, we are aware that Earth TV programmes build awareness for travel destinations reaching 850-plus million people in 160 countries world-wide."