Microsoft has announced the release of Silverlight 3 for Mac OS X, along with a new version of its Expression design tool. Silverlight 3 is compatible only with Intel-based Macs, and offers better performance, GPU acceleration, desktop tools, and support for higher-quality audio and video.

According to the company behind the Windows operating system, additional video and audio support includes native H.264/Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) Audio, live and on-demand IIS7 Smooth Streaming, full HD (720p+) playback, and an extensible decoder pipeline. For developers, new 3D graphics and animation features have been included, as well as hardware accelerated effects and text improvements to enable designers and developers to create next-gen visuals for the Web.

“Install Microsoft Silverlight on your Mac to make the most of the latest state-of-the-art Web site experiences,” Microsoft says. “Microsoft Silverlight delivers amazing experiences across leading news, sports, and entertainment sites with amazing 2D/3D animations, special effects, smooth, high-quality video that includes HD video and blazing fast performance. Silverlight ‘s Installation is secure, free and only takes few seconds,” the Windows maker assures potential customers.

“Silverlight and Expression fill a clear need in the marketplace for a complete, end-to-end solution that makes it easy for development teams to work together effectively, from concept to deployment, to create the types of rich interactive experiences today’s users expect,” Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of the .NET Developer Platform at Microsoft, adds. “In a record amount of time, we’ve gone from being the industry newcomer to achieving a remarkable rate of industry adoption, rapidly delivering capabilities such as SketchFlow and IIS Smooth Streaming that are unmatched by other vendors. With more than 6 million developers with .NET programming skills worldwide and a platform that delivers a rich user experience at some of the lowest costs possible, Silverlight ubiquity is a matter of ‘when,’ not ‘if.’”

Silverlight 3 requires Mac OS X 10.4.8 (Tiger) or later, an Intel processor, a minimum 128 MB of RAM and is compatible with Safari and Firefox. Using the link below, Mac owners can download, install and use Silverlight 3 for free.

Download Microsoft Silverlight (Free)