In this paper we present a system that facilitates virtual museum development and usage. The system is based on a game engine, ensuring thus minimal cost and good performance, and includes provisions that enable museum curators design the virtual museum without any specialized knowledge. Besides visual and auditory information, museum curators may also provide metadata which provide additional information to the visitor, while they can be also exploited for searching for exhibits with certain properties. A guide is also included in the museum, to present additional information to the visitors and aid them throughout their tour. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.5.1 [Multimedia Information Systems] - Artificial, augmented, and virtual realities; H.5.2 [User Interfaces] Graphical user interfaces (GUI), I.3.6 [Methodology and Techniques] - Interaction techniques General Terms Design, Management, Human Factors. Keywords Virtual museum; game engines; authoring environment; museum guide....