Google and LEGO team up to kill productivity with LEGO building app

Google and LEGO have launched an app that lets users play with virtual LEGO bricks in their web browsers during work hours while deadlines are rapidly approaching. Google unveiled the productivity-sapping feature, “Build With Chrome,” on Tuesday. Users can stack, rotate and snap a variety of bricks onto a virtual pad, powered by WebGL, a 3D graphics technology for web browsers.

Building a Lego creation is now as easy as opening your Web browser. Google and the Danish toy company have teamed up to create Build With Chrome, a website users can visit using the Chrome Web browser to build Lego models. The site can be accessed through a computer, tablet or smartphone. “We think the creative freedom of Lego bricks shouldn’t be limited to plastic bins,” Google said in a blog post announcing the website. The website is easy to use, but creating a model takes as much time as it does in real life. Users have to search for the right bricks, choose their colors and place them in the perfect spot. Users can choose to publish their models publicly and geo-tag them to a real location in the world. Users can then scan a Google Maps feature within Build With Chrome to see what others around the world have put together.