After the successful launch of a historical atlas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in digital format, the French Institute of Pondicherry(IFP), in association with four universities in southern states, has moved to the next phase to prepare a similar atlas of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The digital atlas is the first of its kind in India, which presents archaeological, historical, cultural, economic and social data on south India with geographical information system functionalities. It gives complete information on historical places, textual and photographic records collected from field surveys, archaeological reports, inscriptions, and literature in chronological order from prehistoric times to the 17th century. The IFP, in association with the Tamil University of Thanjavur, Mahatma Gandhi University of Kottayam, Mangalore University and Hyderabad University, undertook the novel project and has completed a pilot project to prepare a digital atlas of the next phase on selected locations - Shimoga in Karnataka and Telangana in Andhra Pradesh. Ford Foundation funded the ambitious project.