def METHOD_NAME(sel,D,k):
    # compute the volume for a selection of sel columns
    # and a k-1 simplex (-> k columns have to be selected)
    mv = np.max(D)
    # fill the remaining distance by the maximal overall found distance
    d = np.zeros((k,k)) + mv
    for i in range(k):
        d[i,i] = 0.0
    for idx_i,i in enumerate(sel):
        for idx_j,j in enumerate(sel):
            d[idx_i,idx_j] = D[i,j]
    return d