KOBE -- The opening earlier this month of a new museum of literature in Hyogo Prefecture was marked by the usual ceremonial pomp.
But unlike other institutions, visitors to this new museum don't need to have a map, know the nearest station or a regular address. The only thing they need to know is www.bungaku.pref.hyogo.jp -- the URL of Net Museum Hyogo Bungakukan.
As the first publicly run museum entirely laid out in cyberspace, Hyogo Prefectural Government officials are confident that Bungakukan displays as much literature as a conventional museum dedicated to literature -- if not more.