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SVG

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a language for describing two-dimensional static and animated vector graphics in XML.

SVG became a W3C Recommendation in September 2001. SVG is natively supported in Amaya web browser. In other ones, a plugin, like Adobe SVG Viewer (http://www.adobe.com/svg/viewer/install/main), is needed to see SVG images, but they can be displayed by external editors and viewers. Mozilla now supports parts of the W3C SVG Standard, but much is still unsuported.

From the W3C Overview of SVG (http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/Overview#intro):

 SVG allows three types of graphic objects: 
 *vector graphic shapes (e.g., paths consisting of straight lines and curves), 
 *images and 
 *text.  
 Graphical objects can be grouped, styled, transformed and composited into
 previously rendered objects.  Text can be in any XML namespace suitable to
 the application, which enhances searchability and accessibility of the SVG
 graphics.  The feature set includes nested transformations, clipping paths[?],
 alpha masks[?], filter effects, template objects and extensibility[?].

 SVG drawings can be dynamic and interactive[?].  The Document Object Model (DOM)
 for SVG, which includes the full XML DOM, allows
 straightforward  and efficient vector graphics animation via scripting.  A
 rich set of event handlers[?] such as onmouseover and onclick can be
 assigned  to any SVG graphical object.  Because of its compatibility and
 leveraging of other Web standards, features like scripting can be done on SVG
 elements and other XML elements from different namespaces simultaneously
 within the same Web page.

SVG rivals Macromedia Flash in terms of potential and power, and is an open standard.