Ancient Qurans and other Islamic texts are getting a new life online thanks to a Baltimore museum that is digitizing its collection of the rare documents.

Scholars say the two-year project at the Walters Art Museum is putting the Baltimore institution at the head of a movement transforming the study of ancient texts.

The museum is using a $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to digitize the collection. Once finished, high-resolution images of more than 200 items, often richly illuminated and illustrated, will be available free of charge to anyone with an Internet connection.

After the project is finished, museum officials hope to move on to the Walters' European, Armenian and Thai documents.

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