That's the fundamental idea behind Photosynth, which recently graduated from beta status and departed from the Microsoft Labs site to make its way in the world. The video above, narrated by the articulate Blaise Aguera Y Arcas, does a good job of showing this in action, although I also recommend an earlier presentation by Arcas, in which he discusses the underlying technology in more detail and provides some compelling examples, such as the 3D construction of Notre Dame cathedral based on images from Flickr.

While Microsoft clearly has plans to use these technologies as part of its own search and mapping sites, Photosynth provides a way for anyone to create and publish their own collection of linked photos. Well, almost anyone—you need to be a Windows user to install the viewer or the application to create your own synths, both available on the Photosynth.com site.

Microsoft has traditionally not been a byword for cool new technologies but with its recent Surface initiative, and now Photosynth, it would seem that the firm has finally found a way to move innovations from its massive R&D labs into the public space.