A method for automatically determining whether a browser supports scalable vector graphics ("SVG"). The method uses a two prong process to make a proper detection for various types of browsers. The method includes using JavaScript to detect Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions ("MIME") types from the browser to detect SVG support. If scanning of the MIME types detects that SVG support is present, the requested web page containing SVG content is sent. If no SVG support is detected, the non-SVG version of the web page is sent to the browser. If the browser does not return a list of MIME types, the method of Visual Basic Scripting Edition language ("VBScript") to instruct the browser to create an SVG object on the client device. If the object is created, SVG support has been detected, and the browser is served the web page having SVG content.