The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is seeking browser vendors, application developers and content designers to help design the next version of HTML.The organization is announcing on Wednesday a new W3C HTML Working Group, which will solicit participation from W3C members and others. “HTML started simply, with structured markup, no licensing requirements, and the ability to link to anything. More than anything, this simplicity and openness has led to its tremendous and continued success,” said Tim Berners-Lee, W3C director and inventor of HTML, in a statement released by W3C. “It’s time to revisit the standard and see what we can do to meet the current community needs, and to do so effectively with commitments from browser manufacturers in a visible and open way.” In detailing the history of HTML, W3C said that after publication of HTML 4 and following a 1998 workshop, W3C planned to turn HTML into an XML-based format called XHTML. Because of the legacy of Web content that was some variant of HTML, traditional browser vendors moved slowly to adopt XHTML. Content developers had little motivation to adopt XHTML for the desktop. Leaders in the Web developer and design communities urged W3C to renew its commitment to HTML by adding new features. Now, W3C will re-launch work on HTML.Also, W3C said XHTML has proved valuable in markets such as mobile devices and enterprise applications. Design aims for XHTML 2.0 include keeping it as generic as possible and reusing applicable XML standards such as XForms. With W3C’s charting of the XHTML 2 Working Group, meanwhile, W3C will continue work on the language at the same time it considers re-branding the technology. W3C also has re-chartered the HTML Coordination Group and Forms Working Group. The Forms group will continue work on the XForms architecture. Software Development