The Rule Interchange Format Working Group has published a Group Note of RIF In RDF. This document specifies a reversible mapping (or transformation) from Rule Interchange Format (RIF) XML documents to Resource Description Framework (RDF) graphs. This mapping allows the contents of RIF documents to be interoperably stored and processed as RDF triples, using existing serializations and tools for RDF. When used with the standard mapping from RDF triples to RIF frames, this also provides a "reflection" or "introspection" mechanism, an interoperable way for RIF rules to operate on RIF documents. Learn more about the Semantic Web Activity.

The Points of Interest Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of Points of Interest Core. In general terms, a "point of interest" is a location about which information is available. A POI can be as simple as a set of coordinates and an identifier, or more complex such as a three dimensional model of a building with names in various languages, information about open and closed hours, and a civic address. POI data has many uses including augmented reality browsers, location-based social networking games, geocaching, mapping, and navigation systems. This document describes a generic data model and one normative format. This format is based on XML and is likely insufficient to cover all POI use cases, therefore, it is expected that the data model will be mapped to other formats, such as JSON, GML, RDF, GeoRSS, or HTML. Learn more about the Ubiquitous Web Applications Activity.

The Voice Browser Working Group has published a Proposed Recommendation of Voice Browser Call Control: CCXML Version 1.0. This document describes CCXML, or the Call Control eXtensible Markup Language. CCXML is designed to provide telephony call control support for dialog systems, such as VoiceXML. Comments are welcome through 10 June. Learn more about the Voice Browser Activity.

The SPARQL Working Group has published Last Call Working Drafts of the following SPARQL 1.1 documents:

• SPARQL 1.1 Query adds support for aggregates, subqueries, projected expressions, and negation to the SPARQL query language.
• SPARQL 1.1 Update defines an update language for RDF graphs.
• SPARQL 1.1 Service Description defines a vocabulary and discovery mechanism for describing the capabilities of a SPARQL endpoint.
• SPARQL 1.1 Graph Store HTTP Protocol describes the use of the HTTP protocol for managing named RDF graphs on an HTTP server.
• SPARQL 1.1 Entailment Regimes defines conditions under which SPARQL queries can be used with entailment regimes such as RDF, RDF Schema, OWL, or RIF.

SPARQL is a set of specfications related to querying a web of linked data. Review comments welcome through 29 July. Learn more about the Semantic Web and Linked Data.

The SVG Working Group has published a Last Call Working Draft of Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) 1.1 (Second Edition), a modularized language for describing two-dimensional vector and mixed vector/raster graphics in XML. The document has been republished as a Last Call Working Draft primarily for the community to validate changes made as a result of the previous Last Call. Comments are welcome through 02 June. Learn more about the Graphics Activity.

The Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Working Group has published updates to two Group Notes: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Snapshot 2010 and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Snapshot 2007. These documents collect into one definition all the specs that together form the current state of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) as of the indicated year. The primary audience is CSS implementors, not CSS authors, as this definition includes modules by specification stability, not Web browser adoption rate. Learn more about the Style Activity.

W3C announces the A Local Focus for the Multilingual Web, to take place 21 - 22 September 2011 in Limerick, Ireland, co-located with the 16th Annual LRC Conference. Workshop participants will discuss currently available best practices and standards that help content creators, localizers, language technology developers, browser makers, and others meet the challenges of the multilingual Web. The Workshop also provides opportunities for networking that bring together the various communities involved in enabling the multilingual Web. This is the third of four Workshops being planned by W3C over two years as part of the MultilingualWeb European Project and is hosted by the University of Limerick. Participation is free and open to anyone. However, space is limited and participants are advised to register as soon as possible. People wishing to speak should submit an outline of their proposed talk with their registration form. The deadline for speaker proposals is 15 July. For more information, see the call for participation. Learn more about W3C's Internationalization Activity.

The RDF Web Applications Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of the RDF Interfaces specification. The goal of the RDF Interfaces specification is to provide a common development environment for Web Applications that utilize structured data and RDF. It provides interfaces for creating and managing RDF Triples, Graphs, and Parsers. It also provides the basic building blocks for the upcoming RDF API and the recently published RDFa API. While RDF support is a priority, support for Microdata and Microformats are also provided through extensible-by-design interfaces for parsers and Graph storage. Since this is a First Public Working Draft, the document is expected to change over the coming months. We welcome feedback from the community of Web Application developers on the group's public list. For more information about the Semantic Web, please see the Semantic Web Activity.

The Multimodal Working Group has published a Proposed Recommendation of Ink Markup Language (InkML). This document describes the syntax and semantics for the Ink Markup Language, which serves as the data format for representing ink entered with an electronic pen or stylus. The markup allows for the input and processing of handwriting, gestures, sketches, music and other notational languages in applications. It provides a common format for the exchange of ink data between components such as handwriting and gesture recognizers, signature verifiers, and other ink-aware modules. Comments are welcome through 10 June. Learn more about Multimodal Interaction.

The Evaluation and Repair Tools Working Group has published a Last Call Working Draft of the Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0 Schema, and updated Working Drafts of Developer Guide for Evaluation and Report Language (EARL) 1.0, HTTP Vocabulary in RDF 1.0, Representing Content in RDF 1.0, and Pointer Methods in RDF 1.0. EARL is a machine-readable format for expressing test results, such as results from web accessibility evaluation tools. Read the invitation to review the EARL 1.0 Last Call Working Draft and about the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).