Hopefully most of you would be familiar with RealPlayer, the cross-platform media player which plays numerous multimedia formats such as MP3, MPEG4, QuickTime and Windows Media. Infact, some of you may even remember when it was launched in 1995 as RealAudio Player, one of the very first media players capable of streaming media over the internet.

With thanks to RealNetworks, we have 20 exclusive invitations for Tech Digest readers to join the private beta testing of the new RealPlayer, which lets you bookmark and download video clips you find on the web, which can be later viewed offline and even ripped to CD or DVD. Imagine being able to download all of The Smith’s music videos and rip them to a DVD! In the future, further updates to the player will also support devices, so you can download directly to your iPod or PMPs. I’m sold…