Mumbai: Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft today showcased Microsoft''s strategy to deliver great user experiences across the web, PC and mobile devices in Mumbai as part of Techmela Experience.

Last week, Microsoft had announcement the availability of Silverlight 1.0 in India, which is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in that delivers powerful media experiences through the web.

According to a media communiqué from the company, with Silverlight, businesses in India can offer web applications that are far richer and more interactive than ever before, and provide a seamless and high quality end-user experience at a significantly lower cost of delivery.

Indian banking major HDFC Bank, and the newly formed Indian Cricket League (ICL) unveiled new user-friendly websites designed for Silverlight, as part of their plans to deliver compelling user experiences for their customers.

"We plan to use the internet as a huge medium to reach out to enthusiasts and fans, with live broadcasts, recorded highlights, scoreboards, statistics, charts - all providing Internet viewers with a great alternate channel to enjoy matches as they happen," said Kapil Dev, president, ICL. "In addition to this, ICL will build online fan communities, integrating it into the cricket experience, through fantasy leagues, player comparison, rating, voting, discussions, etc.

"Microsoft is working closely with ICL to enable a rich and never-before-seen experience online, with innovative features allowing Internet users to switch between multiple camera angles, broadcast feeds, overlay with statistical elements and even interact with tools that will, for example, allow users to judge and opine the fate of a player when a third umpire decision is called for."

According to Aditya Puri, managing director, HDFC Bank, said, "Technology has always been our forte and a great enabler for us in reaching out to our ever-increasing retail and corporate customer base to offer truly world-class banking products and services. We move a step further, with this association with Microsoft, offering our valued customers at HDFC Securities, the best of technology to help them make accurate and informed investment calls in an ever-evolving and dynamic equity market."

Other customers who have pilot projects on Silverlight include rediff.com, Sify.com and sulekha.com

The company release cited IMRB/IBEF as estimating India''s internet user base being poised to increase to 54 million by March 2008, on the back of a huge surge in internet consumption in smaller cities and towns. This, according to the company is a huge opportunity for companies to penetrate the market far more effectively than ever before.

Today, the challenge for Web developers and designers is the fragmented tool and technology framework available to deliver experiences across multiple touchpoints i.e., web, PC and Mobile. This leads to a compromise in the User Experience. With Expression Studio and Visual Studio, they can now collaborate seamlessly to deliver uncompromised experiences on Silverlight, while leveraging their existing NET skills.

Since its international launch only a couple of months ago, over 40 customers have delivered over 60 applications for Silverlight from 20+ countries around the world. In India, some early adaptors such as Sify.com and Rediff.com, realizing the value of these technologies have plans to deliver Silverlight-based experiences for their viewers and customers.