SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube  has begun offering glimpses into a day in life around the world.

A "Life in a Day" channel available at the popular video-sharing website lets people see moments from July 24 captured by cameras as part of an experiment to create a documentary about a single day on Earth.

A total of 80,000 videos were submitted from 197 countries in what YouTube billed as a project to create "the world's largest user-generated film."

"Now, you can explore many of these videos in the gallery on the Life in a Day channel," said Nate Weinstein of YouTube entertainment marketing. "To make browsing easy, you can sort videos by geography, time of day, mood and more."

The channel is at youtube.com/lifeinaday.

Director Kevin Macdonald and producer Ridley Scott are weaving video snippets into a full-length documentary "Life in a Day" film that will premier at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in Utah in January.

Scott is the Oscar-winning director of " Blade Runner," " Gladiator," "Thelma and Louise" and other hit films.

Macdonald directed " The Last King of Scotland," " Touching the Void," " One Day in September" and other films.

Google-owned YouTube describes the project as a "historic cinematic experiment" intended to "document one day, as seen through the eyes of people around the world."

Contributors whose footage makes the final cut will be credited as co-directors and 20 will be selected to attend the premiere.