A second test version–beta 2 of the very popular and most widely used web browser, Internet Explorer 8 has been released by Microsoft Corp on Wednesday. The new version has added features to enhance privacy, ease-of-use and security.
Main features of IE 8-beta 2 are as follows:
-The latest version of Internet Explorer replicates features found in Firefox 3.
- It includes a “smart” address bar that remembers and redirects user to website addresses they have visited before.
-Internet Explorer 8 offers a mode called “InPrivate Browsing,” which ensures that history, temporary Internet files and cookies are not recorded on a user’s PC.
-Security feature allows a user to block content coming from third-parties trying to track and aggregate the user’s online behavior.
-Microsoft also updated already announced features such as “Activities,” which allows a user to use information found on one page, such as an address, in conjunction with an online service such as mapping without leaving the original site.
Microsoft has pledged to deliver more regular updates of Internet Explorer, whose lead has been chipped away by Mozilla’s Firefox browser.
Earlier, Microsoft has released a test version– beta 1 of IE 8 in March, but that was aimed at letting Web developers take a first look at the new browser. Beta 2 has a market share of about 75 percent and is aimed at a broader consumer audience.
The date of official launch of IE 8 is not yet disclosed. Officials didn’t tell anything about how many people are expected to download the test version of the new browser.
The new version of IE 8 is available for download at www.microsoft.com/ie8.
