SMIL enables this type of information to be expressed quite easily, allowing television-like content to be created on the Web. Of course, the Web offers far more than just television. For example, a search engine can be used to find a particular SMIL presentation. As the Web is inherently interactive, users can follow links embedded into a SMIL presentation to obtain background information on a newscast, or to an order form for a product described in a commercial. Ease of Authoring Today, few authors write synchronized multimedia presentations for the Web because existing approaches have serious drawbacks.
Current approaches require the use of an expensive authoring tool or to learn programming.
SMIL removes these drawbacks. Moreover, authors can describe a presentation using three simple XML elements instead of having to learn a complex scripting language. It will bring synchronized multimedia authoring to the masses. The SMIL specification has been produced as part of the W3C Synchronized Multimedia Activity . After a period of public and Member review, W3C expects SMIL to be endorsed as a new W3C Recommendation.