• Cloak and dagger world of spies exposed in NYC show

    Reuters

    The World War Two Enigma machine used by German military and intelligence services to create what they thought were unbreakable messages can be seen at the "Spy, The Secret World of Espionage" exhibition, in New York City.

    Reuters reports: NEW YORK (Reuters) - The mysterious cloak and dagger world of international espionage and its real-life heros and villains are exposed in a new exhibition, the first to be sanctioned by U.S. intelligence agencies. "Spy, the Secret World of Espionage," which opens at the Discovery Times Square on Friday, includes hundreds of artifacts, some from the vaults of the CIA and FBI and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

    They range from a World War Two-era collapsible motorbike that could be dropped by parachute and deployed in 10 seconds and a German ENIGMA machine to create secret messages to a camel saddle used by one of the first CIA agents in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks to bugging devices, microdots and surveillance equipment.

    Reuters

    A kit of tools used by East German members of the Stasi secret police, concealed in a leather case, for spying and surveillance purposes can be seen at the "Spy, The Secret World of Espionage" exhibition, in New York City.

    They may not have Q in their corners, but real spies do have gadgets that would fit right into a James Bond movie. Msnbc.com's Rosa Golijan tours an exhibition of spy tools.

     

  • See the ancient city of Pergamon in 360 degrees

    Soeren Stache / EPA

    The viewing platform is fixed on cargo containers in the 'Panorama of the Antique City' at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 29. The 360 degree round image is a representation of the antique Pergamon. On display until Sept. 30, the reconstruction is based on the current state of archaeological research.

    Soeren Stache / EPA

    Visitors look at 'Panorama of the Antique City' at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 29.

    More about the ancient city on wikipedia

    Visit the museum's website and read more about the panoramic exhibition.

  • Kerim Otk / EPA

    An employee works on the presentation of a sculpture by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei prior to the opening of his retrospective at the Lisson Gallery in London, May 11, 2011. The exhibition presenting a selection of the artist's works from the past six years, opens to the public May 13 and runs to July 16. Ai Weiwei was detained by authorities in Beijing, China on April 3, 2011 while trying to board a flight to Hong Kong. His whereabouts remain unknown.

    Andrew Winning / Reuters

    Visitors walk around Ai Weiwei's "Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads" at Somerset House in London May 11, 2011. The exhibition which comprises of 12 bronze animal heads recreated from traditional Zodiac sculptures, is on view from May 12 to June 26.

    Vanished Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, exhibits work in London

    By Phaedra Singelis, NBC News

    Though he disappeared more than a month ago in China, Ai Weiwei's work continues to be shown in galleries and museums all over the world. The zodiac sculptures seen above were recently on display in New York City. More on the artist's exhibitions in London.

  • Ilya Naymushin / Reuters

    An employee cleans a parquet, with installations called "Les tetes" (Heads) and "Double voitures" (Double automobiles) by French artist Fabrice Hybert in the foreground, at an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, January 12.

    Art exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Krasnoyarsk, Russia

    By Elena Grothe

    Looking at this photo, I didn't know which way to look.