In this paper we propose a new efficient interpolation tool, extremely
suitable for large scattered data sets. The partition of unity method is used
and performed by blending Radial Basis Functions (RBFs) as local approximants
and using locally supported weight functions. In particular we present a new
space-partitioning data structure based on a partition of the underlying
generic domain in blocks. This approach allows us to examine only a reduced
number of blocks in the search process of the nearest neighbour points, leading
to an optimized searching routine. Complexity analysis and numerical
experiments in two- and three-dimensional interpolation support our findings.
Some applications to geometric modelling are also considered. Moreover, the
associated software package written in \textsc{Matlab} is here discussed and
made available to the scientific community