Visual studio and alpha backgrounds

Seen this question asked a lot but can't seem to find an answer. So here it is. Can you use a PNG with an alpha channel as the background image for a VB app? I don't care about changing the shape of the app rectangle is 开发者_JAVA百科fine. They just want to use a character with a drop shadow behind him as the background for the app.

In WinForms, you'll need to make a layered window.
In WPF, you'll need to set AllowsTransparency to true and WindowStyle to None.