Transparent XPM's

[Nik <njv100 demeter cs york ac uk>]

I am trying to add an xpm image to my graphics application.
I have successfully managed to read the data in from the xpm file and
then display it in the correct place.
However I would like the area around the immediate image to be
transparent.
As an XPM it is transparent and I can set the colour of the transparency
in the application but this results in some occluded data.
Is there any way to import the XPM so that it remains transparent and
those things behind it are still visible?

Jazzyfoot.