British nurses began to be trained in a virtual hospital ward

The virtual learning environment is called Oxford Medical Simulation (OMS) - it has already been implemented in several

National Health Service sites in the south of the UK.

The system is currently available to pediatric nurses and graduate students, and by the end of the year it will offer courses for midwifery students.

Students will be able to work in the digital wardassisting in 30 different situations related to patient health problems, including breathing problems, sepsis, severe allergies, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The system works through the Oculus Rift VR headset.

"We developed OMS because we believethat training healthcare professionals in a flexible, zero-risk environment will change patient care around the world for the better. We learn best by doing it ourselves, and our system will allow users to do this without putting patients' lives at risk."

Jack Pottle, lead development author

It was previously reported that Google's new projectwill allowsee cave paintings in VR format. The first exposition is dedicated to works of art that scientists discovered in the Chauvet cave in southern France.