The additional instructions in the Intel architecture to support multimedia and communications are explained briefly. The additional packed data types are introduced, along with the instructions to operate on them. The authors present the rationale for the choice of data types and the changes made to the Pentium processor. They include a few examples from graphics processing and sprite overlay to show the utility of the new instructions. They also discuss how the Pentium processor was augmented to support the new instructions. The benchmarks indicate a performance gain over the microprocessor without the MMX technology.