So what to do if you can’t hop on a jet to Paris to see that new exhibit of avant-garde frog photography? Harness the power of the internet, my friends. Many museums have extensive gallieries and information right on their websites. Here are the best of the best when it comes to museum websites.

The Louvre

No need to brush up on your French for the website of the most visited museum in the world. The thoughtful cyber-curators produced virtual tours for those who don’t feel like ponying up thousands of dollars in travel expenses to visit this Paris museum. While like real museum-goers you might first check out landmark pieces like the Mona Lisa, don’t discount the lesser-known collections such as this 3D exhibit of a Bawit Monastery or a virtual tour of the museum’s Islamic art.

La Cinémathèque Française

Fire up your high school French (or Google Translator) to check out the stunning site for la Cinémathèque française. The ever-modest institution describes itself as the most important film archive in the world. It backs up its boasts with incredible collections of films, set pieces, props, and costumes from some of the most important cinematic works in history. The website features a “zoom sur les collections” section where one can zoom in on pieces from the collection such as whimsical drawings by Méliès or the robot from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.

MoMA

Of course some of the best use of the internet as a gallery comes from the Museum of Modern Art. You can browse the collections, preview exhibitions, or download their free Abstract Expressionism NY app. The site is multimedia rich, with behind the scenes audio and video for installations like this guy playing piano from the inside out.

The Studio Museum in Harlem

For one of the best collections of works by artists of African descent, The Studio Museum in Harlem is the place to go. While the museum’s website is certainly media-light in comparison with some of the larger museums, it serves as an excellent introduction to past and present artists who are often overlooked.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

This large Boston-based museum features interactive tours of its extensive international art collections. Its Asian Robes & Costumes and New England collections are particularly unique.

The British Museum

The British Museum ranks with the Louvre as one of the largest and most popular museums in the world. Its website makes for perfect teatime browsing with the online tours and an interactive experience for children.

The Smithsonian

While the vastness of the Smithsonian isn’t pared down well on the website, a visitor with the patient to sift through the many, many collections will find a wealth of images and information on the institute’s official website.

Here are a few entries on celebrities from the scholars at UD, edited for space but with glorious typos still intact:

Simon Cowell: A judge on Pop Idol and American Idol. He has a strange liking for high trousers and he is disliked because he is honest to stupid crap wannabes who can’t sing.

Hugh Jackman: the best name if you are in a porno flick

Seth Rogan: A fat unattractive man who dates a hot woman.

Kanye West: he outsold 50 cent’s get rich or die trying, and curtis. but he’s still not jesus.

Weezer: A band so awesome that they can sing about cheese and make it sound cool.

Tina Fey: 1. Writer and performer for Saturday Night Live. 2. The greatest WWE Champion of all time.

Meryl Streep: 1. A famous person, I think. She just looks like someone’s aunt to me. 2. Only the best actor on the face of the planet, you face-ass.

David Bowie: Musical equivalent of the Big Bang.

Neil Patrick Harris: Legendary

Like a gallery, each of these sites is crafted to sell the work or gained future commissioned work. That means that like a gallery, each site tries its best to create a beautiful environment for the work it is promoting. The result can be an amazing introduction to an artist that might have escaped your radar, or better yet access to some excellent art even if you aren’t living in a major city.

A great place to get started on your search is Smashing Magazine, an online designer’s magazine that regularly showcases portfolio websites. The post 35 Beautiful Photography Websites is a good collection to start with, but warning: you may find yourself browsing a little too long!

TheSixtyOne.com does something innovative with some very old ideas.

The buzzword of Generation Y is “social,” and it’s not referring to quaint get-togethers involving ice cream sundaes. Music in particular has a rich history of being a very social art form, from its beginnings in public performance to the recent decades’ obsession with mix tapes. Translating this to the social networking paradigm that has emerged with “Web 2.0″ has become a chief concern to the music industry.

Enter TheSixtyOne.com, which harnesses the power of social networking while incorporating the more primal human need for shared artistic experience and critique. TheSixtyOne allows its artists to set up sites that provide free streaming music for an audience of listeners competing to prove their taste. Listeners vote for their favorite artists, and if a listener’s choice jumps in popularity the listener is rewarded with more points and a level boost. The way Digg users strive to become tastemakers in the community surrounding that site, TheSixtyOne listeners embark in a friendly competition to prove their credibility as music listeners.

The result is more exposure for unknown artists because users want to be exposed to new work that might be the next best trend. New artists are featured at the top of the network’s browsing page, guaranteeing dozens of views, views which can rise into the hundreds or thousands if the artist has some talent and a likable sound.

One interesting problem arising with TheSixtyOne is the introduction of mainstream acts which draw attention away from the independent artists the site tries to serve. Still, the top artists are largely unknown bands and solo acts that appeal to an audience looking to discover the next big thing.

There is a need in the music community to prove one’s merits as a listener and critic, something which I think makes this sort of site perfect for music consumption. I wonder if the same concept would translate well for video, photography, art, or literature. The desire for “taste cred” certainly exists in these communities, but not quite as strong as it does in the trend-obsessed world of music entertainment.