1 Topic of the paper first row

As computers come to be used in more and more settings, the importance of digital signal processing increases in parallel. It has become a fundamental necessity to train both undergraduate and postgraduate engineers in this subject. The article which follows gives one approach to this teaching, a series of web-based practical sessions on signal and pattern recognition in a virtual laboratory (vPSM) using multimedia learning modules. The technology used is conventional web technology together with professional mathematics software, accessed via a universal XML interface developed for the purpose.