The Google Art Project, that later became the Cultural Institute, that later became Google Arts & Culture first began in 2008 at the Prado in Spain.
A Google earth layer [KML] allowed you to fly into a SketchUp model of the Prado with pictures of the building on the inside. It was the brainchild of Clara Rivera Rodriguez.
The Google Art Project launched in January 2011 and was meant to be a similar rough sketch but with more galleries. In the end 17 galleries were involved and the whole thing became much bigger than we had imagined because people could see the power of that first model.
And, you know, lawyers... That is how these things happen. Not in a major way but in a progression of models that inspire and excite.
Prado experiment with Google Earth: (2008/9) Press & blog (initiated by Clara Rivera Rodriguez out of Google Spain with help from CL)
First 'Art project' with StreetView: (2010/11) Press & blog (initiated by Amit Sood, Anna de Paula Hanke, and Sara Rowghani with help from CL)
'Cultural Institute' project in press Oct 2011: Press (much reduced CL involvement)
Physical Institute 'launched' in Paris: mid-2012 (no CL involvement)
Unified web experience of the Cultural Institute launched with Dead Sea Scrolls, ArtProject, Mandela Archives : Oct 2012 Press & Blog