Client Side Code Needed to Display Large XML files

We currently have large xml files (1000-3000 rows) which we are using displaying using XSLT and some jquery and javascript to perform client side action with the xml data. We are looking for a solution that can display some subset of the large data set on the page first, while the rest loads in the background and may be instantaneously available when requested. We believe AJAX may be the solution but welcome any other strategy to solve the problem. The number of rows to initially display can be set by the admin. For example, we may choose to display the 1st 100 rows of 1000 row file. While the first 100 rows are being displayed, the other 900 are loaded in the background. When fully loaded, a "show all" link appears on the page.