Some of Scotland's world heritage sites are to be digitally documented in an international 3D scanning project.
The Historic Scotland sites include the Antonine Wall, St Kilda, New Lanark, Heart of Neolithic Orkney, and the old and new towns of Edinburgh.
This will be matched with the documentation of five international heritage sites creating what will be known as the Scottish Ten.
Michael Russell, Minister for Culture, said in a statement: "Scotland has great expertise and a wealth of experience in preserving, understanding and researching its historic environment.
`We have embraced 3D scanning to increase our awareness of heritage and are now able to share our knowledge in digital documentation with countries and organisations on a world stage for everyone to enjoy."
He added: "Recent work at Rosslyn Chapel and Stirling Castle shows what can be achieved and these projects demonstrate that we are at the cutting edge of technology for the benefit of our oldest heritage sites.
"The Scottish Ten is a pioneering step by the Scottish Government to further enhance international relations."
The first international site will be Mount Rushmore in South Dakota which will be scanned in 3D to provide a visual documentation of this internationally important monument.
Douglas Pritchard, from the Glasgow School of Art, said: "The digital documentation of Mount Rushmore is a technically challenging but exceptionally exciting project. It follows the success of the research relationship between the Digital Design Studio (DDS) at the Glasgow School of Art and Historic Scotland.
"The technical approach to be taken at Mount Rushmore will be similar to our Scottish-based projects, such as Stirling Castle and Rosslyn Chapel, although at a larger scale."
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to demonstrate the unique technical skills at the DDS on such internationally significant heritage site."
Gerard Baker, Superintendent at Mount Rushmore National Park, said: "While Mount Rushmore is a national icon in the US, there are expertise in other countries which can assist us to preserve it in a modern context.
"Therefore, we have identified international partners who share our vision to grow National Park Service and what we offer the world.
"A partnership of the size allows us to celebrate our cultural heritage on a world-wide stage by recording one of America's most important historical sites for the benefit of future generations."
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