IE8 Beta coming soon

Internet Explorer 7 might still seem fresh, at least as far as Microsoft products go but that doesn't mean that the next next version, Internet Explorer 8, isn't coming down the pike. Over the weekend, Microsoft announced to beta testers that IE8 Beta 1 can be expected to arrive shortly. "We are nearing the launch of Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 and we will be making it available for the general public to download and test," the email says. "IE8 Beta 1 is focused on the developer community, with the goal of gaining valuable feedback to improve Internet Explorer 8 during the development process." According to current roadmaps, IE8 will be available for Windows Vista and XP during the first half of the year.

For more on the next version of IE:
- see this Ars Technica article