It isn't a gadget, but it still happens to be way cool.

If you've ever owned a photograph and looked at it, or maybe if you've ever played a game and enjoyed it, you've probably wondered what it might be like to step into the world in that photo or game. Microsoft's Live Labs is cooking up something to get us one step closer to doing just that.

Microsoft's Photosynth lets you take a bunch of related photographs and turns them into a three-dimensional space, a world unto itself. Once completed, its creators say, Photosynth will allow you to fly through the world you've created, looking at the collection of photos from any angle, zoom in almost indefinitely on anything in the picture, and see how your photos are connected.

With an internet connection, it'll also allow you to send the collection, and possibly the 3D world you just made, to friends (or whoever), as well as find pictures that are somehow related to your existing collection.

While Photosynth's still in the development stages, it's definitely going to be something to look forward to. Imagine taking picture of your house and then making a virtual model of the interior on your comp, flying through the rooms like a ghost. Better yet, why not explore your own personal "world map" by connecting photos into a 3D model of your neighborhood? We only wonder about how it would work with edited images, as well as forcing unrelated photos to mesh together.

Would it make for your own virtual fantasy world, perhaps? Only time will tell. But you can have a look at an overview of the program right here.