The inclusion of interactive animations is commonly achieved on the web by the use of a file format known as Flash.

Flash has become a ubiquitous standard on the web for delivering animations. Flash has the ability to deliver sophisticated animations, interactivity and sound within one file.

Flash files are scalable. This means that the same file can be resized (e.g. to fill a different proportion of the computer monitor) without loss of quality or increase in file size.

Flash has become a universal standard for the delivery of animations on the Internet.

Flash files are a streaming media format. This means that the animation will begin to play before the whole file is downloaded. While the audience is viewing the file, the next sequence is being downloaded.

Flash produces very small file sizes, particularly when the contents of the animation are restricted to basic shapes, such as text and drawn images.

Flash requires an additional software, known as a plug-in to be installed on the users computer. However, this plug-in comes pre-installed with all recent web browsers (Netscape 3.x and above, Internet Explorer 4.x and above).

Recent statistics show that more than 99% of Internet users, so virtually everyone, have the Flash 4 plug-in installed.