Microsoft and Nokia have struck a deal to bring Silverlight to Nokia phones running Symbian OS, beginning with the S60 smartphones as well as S40 phones and their linux-based Internet Tablets: N810, N800, N770, N700, etc. This is a big win for Microsoft as they have a huge task ahead of them trying to displace Adobe’s Flash as the default internet video player.

The major draw for mobile devices to run Silverlight is its video implementation which is purported to handle MP4 and H.264 for high quality streaming video. Another benefit for adopting Silverlight is that web application developers will be able to develop one application for PCs, smartphones and Internet Tablets all with the same developer’s kit.

Currently, Microsoft has Silverlight running on Windows, Mac OS and has partnered with Novell to develop a version for Linux as well as plans for a Windows Mobile version later this year.

[via Crave]