MUSEUMS and art galleries in the North-East are exhibiting paintings in television's first interactive exhibition.

Painting the Weather brings together 110 works of art from 50 UK venues which, because of fragility and transportation problems, could never be exhibited in one place.

The Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle has provided The Tears Of St Peter by El Greco, while John Martin's Destruction Of Sodom And Gomorrah comes from the Laing Art Gallery, in Newcastle. Visitors can take a virtual tour of the show through a BBCi web exhibition.

A zoom facility means visitors can examine paintings in minute detail. Weatherman Bill Giles also gives his reading of the weather featured in many of the works.

Access is through the bbc.co.uk/paintingtheweather website