New to x86_64; why so many i386 packages?

Tue Apr 1 15:34:42 UTC 2008

I just installed the x86_64 build of Fedora 8.  This is my first ever 
experience with x86_64 Linux as I haven't had the hardware before now. 

I'm amazed at the number of duplicate packages installed.  My total of 
2096 packages installed includes 417 i386 and 2 i686 packages, all of 
which duplicate an existing x86_64 packages.

I understand that some applications don't play nicely when built for 
64-bit pointers, but is it really necessary to have all these 
compatibility libraries just for those few apps?