There exists a 'basic language' which is used between the computers in international network: text which includes 'hyperlinks' is called 'hypertext' , so the language is called 'HyperText Mark-up Language' - HTML.
This succeeds extraordinarily well in presenting text, pictures and tables in a flexible way which works on any computer at all, provided the designer is ready to let go to a certain extent and allow the reader's computer to make the detailed decisions.
At the same time there are naturally other who are keen to explore things 'at the cutting edge of technology', most often in the interests of advertising, perhaps. To this end there are many solutions which use 'plug-in- modules - comparable with an extra loudspeaker in a stereo system or an extra carburettor on a car - which allows various multimedia formats to be transmitted directly via the Web, with reasonable downloading times.
However these often demand a relatively new model of computer and sometimes special equipment, so that the more 'bells and whistles' you add, the less universal you become.
multimedia 
who uses the web?
