Microsoft released Silverlight 3, its Rich Internet application (RIA) technology competitor to Adobe Flash, for Mac OS X and Windows. Available as a Web application framework that works in conjunction with your Web browser, Microsoft Silverlight enables Web programmers to embed animation, vector graphics, audio and video content into Web pages. Microsoft has positioned Silverlight 3 as a challenger to Adobe's Flash technology. The latest version of Silverlight includes over 50 new features, ranging from enhanced video performance and improved quality to support for Visual Studio, Expression Blend and running Silverlight applications from the browser.

Browser-wise, Silverlight 3 supports the latest browsers, including Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.5, as well as GPU hardware acceleration. In addition to the application, Microsoft has also issued Silverlight 3's software development kit (SDK), which can be downloaded from its website.The release of Silverlight 3 comes on the eve of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, scheduled to start July 13 in New Orleans.