Google's new image format to make image transfer faster

HYDERABAD: Internet search leader Google has developed an image format called WebP, which promises to make transfer of images over the web faster by reducing the size of files, a company executive said Thursday.WebP, which Google is hoping will replace the popular JPEG format, reduces file size by 39 percent on an average, without affecting its quality, said Krishnendu Choudhary, a member of the five-member team that developed the technology."Since 65 percent of web traffic comprises of images, WebP would make the web faster," Choudhary, an engineer from Google's Bangalore centre, told reporters."The degree of compression is adjustable. So, a user can choose the trade-off between file size and image quality," he added.WebP is also supported by Google Chrome, the company's web browser.Released a couple of weeks ago, it is an open source project. Three engineers from India were among the five-member developing team, he said.Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) was a committee formed in 1986 and it created the popular JPEG standard, used to store and send images over the net.