RealNetworks has posted on the Web a preview version of the player for its next-generation streaming media system, dubbed G2. The player is the first application to implement SMIL, the W3C's proposed standard for defining streaming media. G2 plays other media formats-including JPEG, MPEG, WAV, AVI-in addition to RealNetworks' own audio and video standards.

In addition to usual product support material RealNetworks includes a section on SMIL with sample code. RealNetworks dominant position in the market puts SMIL on the fast track to be the standard for definining streaming media on the Web.