London, January 2: Technology enthusiasts may get to see five major developments this year, according to a forecast made on the BBC News website.

The website says that 2008 will see the emergence of more tools like Google Gears, Adobe Air, and Microsoft Silverlight that have the ability to take rich web content, and make some of it available offline.

Another big development, according to the forecast, will be the rise in the popularity of sub-notebook-sized Ultra Mobile PCs. Though the first devices were launched in 2006, they have not gone mass market as yet, partly because of a combination of high prices and poor battery life.

Taiwanese manufacturer Asus has now predicted that it will sell five million of the tiny machines in 2008.

Apple is also rumoured to be launching ultra-thin Macbooks using flash in 2008.

Next in list of possible major developments is the rise in internet protocol television (IPTV) services.

Though BT vision and Virgin Media are already providing such services in the UK, more operators are expected to emerge this year.

WIMAX, a wireless technology that can deliver high speed broadband over long distances, also has a mention on the list.

Mike Roberts of research firm Informa Media and Telecoms believes that the technology, which is already a big hit in the US, may make way to the yet-untouched Europe.

Wrapping up the list is Mobile VoIP, a technology that allows users to make cheap phone calls over the internet.

It is believed that this technology may huge rise in 2008.

Five technologies that may become big in 2008:

1. The web to go
2. Ultra mobile PCs
3. IPTV
4. Wimax
5. Mobile VoIP (ANI)