Virtual reality apps allow users to feel like they are inside a mobile game, music video or even experiencing a faraway place as if they were physically there.

However, imagine if you could step into a photograph to really relive a captured memory ... well, Google is making this a reality by launching a new virtual reality app that pairs with the company's Cardboard VR viewer.

Google announced on Thursday the launch a new app for Android that allows users to take photos in virtual reality.

Called "Cardboard Camera," the app allows users to "step inside personal moments" to bring special snapshots to life, such as family gatherings or a recent vacation.

After downloading the app, the user's smartphone transforms into a VR camera that shoots three-dimensional panoramic photos. To take a VR image, simply hold the phone out in front, press record and move the phone around to capture the surrounding environment.

To view the VR experience, place the smartphone into the Google Cardboard VR viewer, and the you will be able to explore each photo in all directions. Since the app also records sound, the user will also be able to play back what they heard at this time.

However, the VR photos are not just a fancy way of saying they are videos. The images captured remain still, even though the world becomes immersive.

Still, it's a great way to share the views you saw during a hiking trip with a friend who couldn't make it, or to make people become interested in your vacation photos.

Cardboard Camera is available for free in 17 languages in the Google Play Store.

Source: Google