Looking for Smooth Page Load Sequence

[fanderson]

I am building a site that has a number of elements (text, photos, google map, etc.) on each page and I would like to know if there is a way to have all the elements load in the background first so that when everything is in place the page will appear nice and tidy. I know you can do this with a preloader in Flash, but I have also seen it on websites that have lots of content on the page (ie New York Times). Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[fanderson]

Just in case anyone is interested in what I found out. Put the Google map scripts in the header and it loads a lot better!