Google is introducing a new format for images: WEBP

Images on the web in this format — which CNET reports will be officially announced later today — will have smaller file sizes, load faster and relieve a lot of overclocked networks. They won’t necessarily look better — WebP images are as "glossy” as JPEGs — but the files might be around 40% smaller than JPEG files.

And since Google estimates 65% of the bytes on the web are images, that represents a quarter of the total amount of data we access and transmit online. Who wouldn’t change formats for a web that could be 26% faster?

The sticking point is JPEG’s popularity. This format dominates the web and related devices, from Flickr to Twitpic to our mobile phones ... Read more »