The Virtual Observatory (VObs) is rapidly evolving as a fundamental tool for the astronomical community. It may be seen as a Grid of federated astronomical databases. The VObs allows global electronic access to the available astronomical data archives of space and ground-based observatories, and to simulation databases as well. It also aims to enable data analysis techniques through world-wide network access, state-of-the-art analysis tools, and a coordinating entity that provides common standards. To process the huge amount of data residing in the VObs it is necessary to provide an adequate amount of resources. Providing these resources in a convenient way is the aim of the Grid middleware. The combination of the VObs and Grid technology is the right answer to this issue, offering a complete and integrated working environment to the Astronomical and Astrophysical community.

Within this framework, it appears as extremely important to interconnect the VObs and the different Grid infrastructures being deployed and that will be deployed in the future. The strong investment in this kind of facilities, both at the national and European levels, provides a geographically distributed e-infrastructure available to European astronomers. It is crucial to make this infrastructure available, usable and useful to all users of the VObs. Actually some astrophysical applications, mainly in the theoretical and modeling fields, are already making use of the computing power the computational Grid is able to offer.

Therefore, the main goal of this workshop is to lay the groundwork to build the bridge between the VObs and the standard Grid infrastructures making developers from the different fields meet and exchange experiences and solutions.

To achieve its goals for the workshop targets three main audiences:

• first the community of Grid and VObs developers that contribute to the suite of standard facilities and web services of the VObs and Grid middleware and tools.
• second the audience comprises the Grid and VObs users. This includes current and potential users both in the Astronomers Community and in other scientific areas. A particular goal is to identify and support those who are willing to do piloting work using the new tools provided both by the VObs and Grid technologies to work on a specific scientific problem.
• the Data Centres that want (or are willing to) adopt Grid technologies and need to find suggestions and exchange experiences.

This workshop aims at contributing to the development of new Grid-aware astronomical applications and Data Centres.

Workshop Objectives:

- Current Research advances in Grid and Virtual Observatory systems;
- European and National and Campus e-Infrastructures;
- Applications in Astronomy and other scientific fields;
- Data and Databases virtualization in e-science infrastructures;
- Interoperability and long term sustainability;

This workshop is organised in the frame of the EuroVO Data Center Alliance FP6 (http://www.euro-vo.org/pub/dca/)
funded coordinated action.
The workshop is organized "back-to-back" with the Euro-VO DCA workshop Theory in the Virtual Observatory" [TBC], which will take place from April 7-9, 2008, also in Garching. It is assumed that many participants will want to attend both workshops. Information about that workshop can be found at the same website.

Scientific Advisory Committee:
Andrew Belikov (NOVA), Art Carlsson (MPE), Harry Enke (AIP), Gerald Lemson (MPG), Masatoshi Ohishi (NAO Japan), Pedro Osuna (ESAC), Guy Rixon (IoA), Enrique Solano (LAEFF), Andre Schaaff (CDS), Juan de Dios Santander Vela (IAA-CSIC), Ruben Alvarez Timon (ESAC), G. Taffoni (INAF Trieste), Edwin Valentyn (NOVA)

Local organizing committee:
A. Carlsson (MPE), J. Kim (MPE), G. Lemson (MPE), G. Taffoni (INAF Trieste), J. Zuther (MPE)