Yes, it is possible to have people make a choropleth map on a webpage by only having them supply a list of states and colours, using only HTML and CSS.
So how does it work? Each state is a glyph within a special font. For example, "va" generates the glyph of the state of Virginia and "dc" the District of Columbia. Additionally, the ligature "usa" produces a character of the full US map.
The Browser Rulez! is a small presentation about how the browser is growing into the hub of our computer use -- and is pretty good at it!
I have put the presentation slides on the web (to be looked at with a browser, of courese. USe a HTML5 capable one for nicest view)...
The reasearch topic 'Web animation out-of-the-box' could also draw from the example of the RIMapper/TimeMapper project. This is a testbed for the use of distributed webservices for the generation of web-based animated, interactive vector maps. It is implemented as an OGC–compliant WMS (Web Map Service) that serializes spatio–temporal data from a database backend as Scalable Vector Graphics. The SVG is used in a web browser to show animated maps with a built–in user–interface. This interface allows the user to interact with both the spatial and the temporal dimensions of the data.
