As to this post the flash player 8 will support E4X (ECMAScript XML). That`s some powerfull stuff. Quick description:
“E4X adds native XML datatypes to the ECMAScript language, extends the semantics of familiar ECMAScript operators for manipulating XML objects and adds a small set of new operators for common XML operations, such as searching and filtering. It also adds support for XML literals, namespaces, qualified names and other mechanisms to facilitate XML processing.”
Haven`t they said Flash 8 will be focused on the designer. Turns out everyone will get something to play with!