Andover.Net Tuesday released GIFWorks 3.0, a free online application that enables Web developers to select, process and create animations online using a standard Web browser interface. Andover.Net's developers have added 20 new visual effects and over seven new editing tools to allow designers to jazz up their Web sites.

The GIFWorks free online software applications provide the ability for Web builders to animate, optimize and apply special effects to any GIF. All of the processing is done on Andover.Net servers, so there is no time-consuming download or complicated installation to go through. GIFWorks uses the Internet as a computer, and as such, it supports all Internet-capable Operating Systems, including Linux, Mac and PC platforms--even Web-TV.

The new version of GIFWorks includes 20 new effects similar to those found in professional graphic design applications such as chalk, emboss, oil paint and watercolor. GIFWorks 3.0 also features many new editing tools:

• Insert text - add text from six fonts customizing font size and color to both animated and still GIFs
• Smart crop - automatically crop the background out of a GIF leaving just the image
• Replace color - select a color anywhere in the GIF and replace it with another to match a page's border or background
• Add/remove transparency - click a color anywhere in a GIF to make that color transparent or return it to its original color
• Optimize to a "Web-safe" Palette - reduce the colors of a GIF to "Netscape only" colors to ensure that images will appear the same in any browser