The implementation and proficient use of GISs has become so complicated that it is growing towards a domain in itself. The "Virtual GIS" (VGIS) aims at the use of the "knowledge base" that is inherent in a GIS for the automatic interpretation of remotely sensed images. VGIS allows the user to deal with abstracted data, hiding technical information about the database and allowing concentration on the user's particular tasks. The key to its independence from the actual GIS used is its focus on the user's tasks. Each task can be subdivided into elemental building blocks that act like atoms in a molecule. As a first step, an interface is introduced which frees image processing specialists (as well as other inexperienced GIS users) from learning the internals of GISs. This paper presents the VGIS rationale, its concept, its structural design, and first steps toward implementation. >