Google to fix some WebP image format shortcomings

From CNET News.com: Google is on the cusp of fixing some initial shortcomings of its WebP, an image format it hopes will speed up browsing.

A new version of libwebp, the library that software can use to display and create WebP images, adds support several features, some of which were the subject of criticism when Google announced WebP in 2010:

* Metadata handling so people can see camera and exposure information stored in the file with the EXIF and XMP technologies.

* ICC (International Color Consortium) color profiles for more accurate color rendering.

* Animated WebP images, a new spin on a once-once obscure GIF technology now made popular in enthusiast circles.

Developer James Zern detailed the developments in a mailing list message about release candidate for libwebp 0.3.0 today.

"This is near final and what I hope to land in Chromium," he said, referring to the open-source project that underlies Google's Chrome browser and, now, Opera as well.

The new library also speeds up WebP encoding, meaning that software can write WebP images faster, and adds a command-line utility, gif2webp, that can be used to convert a graphic from the older format to WebP.

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