14 Oct 2008

Microsoft releases Silverlight 2

Microsoft has today released the second instalment of its Silverlight IT solutions package.

The programme's features include .NET Framework support, built-in controls including DataGrid and ListBox, advanced skinning and templating support, and deep zoom.

Silverlight 2 is intended to allow web designers and developers to collaborate effectively in the delivery of secure user experiences, Microsoft said.

Launched just over a year ago, Silverlight is now accessible to one in four consumers via computer.

Silverlight was used at the Beijing Olympics by NBCOlympics.com, which received 50 million unique visitors during the 17 days of the Games.

The programme was calculated to have increased the average time on the site from three minutes to 27 minutes by helping to enable improved layout and video streams.

“Silverlight represents a radical improvement in the way developers and designers build applications on the web," said Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET developer division at Microsoft.

The release follows last month's online launch of Microsoft's SQL Server 2008 Experience.