ARCO museum pilot sites (Victoria and Albert Museum and the Sussex Archaeological Society) define museum requirements, and evaluate ARCO prototypes at Museum User Trials. This ensures that ARCO delivers what museums really need. The ARCO dataflow starts with the Digitisation of Museum Artefacts to create 3D Virtual Representations using photogrammetry techniques-no expensive lasers. Two approaches are used: state-of-the-art software for medium to large artefacts, and a custom built stereo photogrammetry system for small to medium artefacts-these are the Object Modellers. 3D models generated by the object modeller are refined in the Interactive Model Refinement and Rendering tool. Virtual representations and associated metadata are exported to the XML driven Object Relational database along with associated Media Objects (digital photographs, 3D models, descriptive metadata, etc.). A user friendly Content Management Application, based on a set of template managers, allows the museum user to manage all aspects of the database, including an X-VRML Template Manager; which is used to create Virtual Exhibitions by simply reorganising database content. Virtual exhibitions are then dynamically visualised using X-VRML Templates in several ways through a VRML or X3D based web browser (over the Internet, or on a touch screen display in the museum) or through a Table-top Augmented Reality Environment in the museum using the Augmented Reality Interfaces. ARCO components are connected as an open architecture using the XML Data Exchange format, and virtual representations are described with a Metadata Schema coded as 10 specific XML Schemas.