It probably was not too long ago when you were given a bucket of LEGO pieces and tasked to build whatever you wanted. The possibilities were endless…a three-story residence, the next Gehry-inspired tower – these designs were all achievable, limited only by your creativeness.

Now imagine doing all of this virtually, et voila, you have Build with Chrome.

Build with Chrome is a collaboration between Google Chrome and the LEGO Group that brings the colourful bricks to the web using WebGL, a 3D graphics technology.

Originally created in 2012 by a team in Australia as an experiment, Google has now released the program to everybody.

The most recent development incorporates new features that make it easier to build and explore the digital world of LEGO creations.

Users can build on any plot in the world across their laptop, phone or tablet. Once something has been created, it can be published on Google maps and shared with friends.

To begin, users sign in with a Google+ account to find what people in their ‘circles’ have already created. A new categorisation system for completed Builds will help to sort and filter for specific types of structures.

The Build Academy, a series of short tutorials and challenges featuring characters and structures from the upcoming ‘The LEGO Movie’, allows first-time users to get familiar with the software.

“Build is…our latest Chrome Experiment which lets you explore and build a new world of LEGO creation together online,” said Lockey McGrath, Product Marketing Manager of Google Australia and New Zealand on the Google Australia blog.

“With eight trillion bricks, think of Build as the largest LEGO set you’ve ever seen.”

To begin building, visit buildwithchrome.com.

Images: designboom.com