Imagine seeing the city of Bradford grow in "fast forward'' - before your very eyes.

Imagine seeing chimneys, canals and railways, even your own street, springing out of the ground in a matter of seconds.

Before long we could be living in a "virtual Bradford", if a revolutionary new concept gets underway.

A team of designers has drawn it up for Bradford's bid to be European Capital of Culture 2008.

Bradford graphic design company Adonia Design Partnership has come up with the idea of a 3D computer generated model of the city and surrounding landscape, creating a "living history" and vision of how it will look in the future.

Neil Ryder, who runs Adonia with Elaine Cleary, said the project would be an "interactive multimedia experience, providing a unique journey through the life of the city."

The model would be integrated with a database of information about Bradford's history and culture.

As well as architecture and landscape changing over time, it would illustrate the flavour of different periods.

"Virtual Bradford could be used to visualise how the city will evolve up to 2008," said Neil.

"It would show how proposed future developments could look when completed and how the city might look when decorated during its year as Capital of Culture.

"The model and database would include information from as far back as historical and geological records allow.

"We'd use time-lapse photography to show how things like buildings, railways and canals developed, similar to the famous speeded-up footage of plants opening - but with the city growing instead.

"For example, the Alhambra Theatre's development would be shown using "fast forward" animation, say a month a second. The site would be cleared of whatever was there before, the foundations dug and the building would 'grow' until it was complete and working.

"Later the building would go into decline until its refurbishment in the 1980s.

"Information would come from maps, records, newspapers, and the Alhambra.

"The database would be used to display information about the particular period being viewed.

"As the model evolves towards the present, the database would include photographs of stars, posters of shows and snatches of performances - finishing with the current season's line-up."

People would be able to "fly through" the model, zooming in on details such as their own house or family tree.

Other "virtual Bradford" ideas put forward by Neil and Elaine include a video showing "fast forward" evolution of Bradford's history from the Ice Age, slowing down during the Industrial Revolution to show railways, canals and mills being built, land cleared, mass immigration beginning and the change to a modern city.

Neil added: "As different areas are spotlighted, famous and influential people who lived or worked there would be profiled.

The video would end with Bradford as the European Capital of Culture."

For more details go to www.adonia.co.uk