1. Introduction  
2. Data  
2.1. VISTA-VVV  
2.2. 2MASS  
3. Data Analysis  
3.1. Combining 2MASS and VVV  
3.2. The Infrared Colour Magnitude Diagram  
3.3. The Red Clump Method  
3.4. Photometric Search for Massive Stars  
4. Results  
4.1. Structure of the Galactic Bar  
4.2. Structure of the Inner Disc  
4.3. The Behaviour of Interstellar Extinction  
4.4. Bar-driven Stellar Formation in the Milky Way  
5. Conclusions