Google MP3 Player found in GMail

A new GMail feature lets you play MP3 files right inside the GMail interface without having to download the MP3 or open an external media player.

When you receive an audio file as an email attachment, click the play button and Google will play the audio file for you in a popup window. Very neat implementation (see screenshot)

Now digging into the GMail Mp3 player code, I discovered that it’s actually the Google video player that’s playing the audio file. Infact, you can play any MP3 files from the embedded Google Video player without even having to login to GMail. Here’s the secret URL (works perfect in Firefox)

http://mail.google.com/mail/html/audio.swf?audioUrl=MP3_URL

Replace the MP3_URL with the actual location of the MP3 file on the web and play it inside Google Video. Odeo, take note. Google is entering your territory.