RealNetworks Inc. announced support for the W3C’s second working draft to advance the Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) standard, known as SMIL Boston. This latest step forward in SMIL Boston builds upon the widespread adoption of SMIL as the integration language for Web-based multimedia. The SMIL Boston second working draft proposes extensions to the W3C approved SMIL 1.0 standard, based on feedback from thousands of SMIL 1.0 developers and tens of millions of consumer users and more than a billion SMIL presentations played on the Web since May 1998. Current members of the W3C Working Group developing SMIL Boston are key international industry players in Web multimedia, interactive television and audio/video streaming. In alphabetical order, they are: Canon, Compaq, CSELT, CWI, France Telecom, Gateway, GLOCOM, INRIA, Intel, Macromedia, Microsoft, Oratrix, NIST, Nokia, Panasonic, Philips, RealNetworks and WGBH. SMIL is one of the key enabling technologies of Real.com Take 5, the Web’s daily programming service providing consumers with access to entertainment, music and news content on the Internet. Additionally, more than 100 channel partners on the Real.com Network offer SMIL presentations everyday to their consumers providing a more interactive experience on the Web. SMIL Boston modularizes SMIL functionality, providing standards based integration of SMIL functionality with other XML based languages and applications. Content authors and application developers both benefit from this flexibility: application developers can integrate needed functionality while content authors are able to build on their existing knowledge base. www.realnetworks.com