[Inkscape-user] Preserving transparency

Hi all Showing my ignorance here, but what is the best way of obtaining a .jpg file from a .svg file done in Inkcape, while preserving transparencies and true colours? I am having a bit of a bother doing this - saving as .svg or .png then opening in Illustrator, Photoshop, Fireworks ... doesn't preserve the integrity of the original. I want a .jpg for web use - not everyone can read .svg, can they? And .png files are rather large? Any comments will be very welcome ... Regards from Adam in Oz