VIRTUAL museums and art galleries could exist in 2050 and robots doing the housework could leave people with much more free time to explore them.

But residents and businesses can now shape the future by giving their views on the city's culture and leisure activities in 33 years.

Oxford City Council is asking residents and businesses for their views on how the city should be in 2050 as part of a five-week consultation.

All those views will form a single document of principles which will be adhered to as technology changes and advances.

This week the focus is on the culture and leisure activities.

Pro-vice-chancellor at Oxford University, professor Anne Trefethen, said: "We are extremely fortunate to have some of the world’s leading collections in Oxford, located across our museums, libraries and gardens.

"By 2050 greater digital capability will not only provide an even richer experience for visitors but also enable people across the world to engage with the collections."

The city council said the development or virtual reality could change the way we watch sports events, view museums and experience art.

Director of Modern Art Oxford, Paul Hobson, said art and culture would play a far bigger role by 2050.

He said: "Artists will have moved beyond conventional art spaces, using new technologies and social media to reach new audiences with new forms of art.

"It is likely that these will be highly interactive, designed for specific contexts and audiences, and very user-responsive enabling participation and creativity."

He added: "The idea of the artists will broaden to embrace other producers and consumers, which is very exciting in a city with Oxford's intellectual and technological assets."

Head of culture at Oxford City Council, Peter McQuitty, said the city's cultural diversity would be better displayed.

He said: "Oxford’s cultural offer is already rich, vibrant and engages with extremely large numbers of people across a wide range of art forms.

"Over the coming years and decades, cultural diversity will become much more pronounced as new and emerging communities share more of the richness of their own cultural heritages with the rest of the city."

To take part in the consultation visit oxford2050.com.

The consultation ends on December 31.