I have noticed that in Windows 7, the Windows Picture viewer only displays the first frame of an animated GIF. Why is this? I can see the same picture animated in a web browser.

Hi, this is by design. You can check the following link: "Q: Why don't my animated GIF files animate in the Windows Vista Photo Gallery? The Photo Gallery is designed for management of photos. The GIF format is not widely used for photos, but we included limited support for it due to the fact that some users have photos in this format. However, we did not implement the animation feature. You can use Internet Explorer to view your animated GIF files." http://blogs.msdn.com/pix/pages/faq.aspx#q12 You can view the animated .gif files by opening it with Internet Explorer (IE). Also, use third party software such as IRFANVIEW is another option. Please Note: The third-party product discussed here is manufactured by a company that is independent of Microsoft. We make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability. Hope this helps! Sean Zhu - MSFT

This is a nonsense design sir When windows xp fax viewer can play animated gifs natively