Description:

AVFS is virtual file system layer for transparently accessing the content
of archives and remote directories just like local files. Currently it can
access natively tar, rar, zip, ar, gzip, bzip2, ftp, http, dav and some other.

AVFS also supports extfs, the same extensible interface as known from Midnight
Commander, so AVFS can be extended to support new file systems easily. Support
for debian archives, rpm archives, iso9660 images, patch files and other archives
like lha, arj or cpio is available.

There are other virtual file systems available but AVFS is easier to use for
the user and it's easier to use for the developer.