Microsoft is offering free downloads of Windows XP Service Pack 2 on a silver platter. The Redmond Company has even pre-activated the second service pack for Windows XP so users don't need to keep themselves preoccupied with such details.

However, this is not the first time that Microsoft is pulling a stunt like this. The fact of the matter is that the Redmond Company has already been offering free downloads of pre-activated Windows XP SP2. At the beginning of December 2007, following the release of Internet Explorer 7, Microsoft was faced with the necessity of satisfying the need of developers to run multiple versions of Internet Explorer side by side.

And with both Virtual PC 2004 and virtual PC 2007 also available as free downloads, Microsoft has released a VPC virtual machine image containing a pre-activated Windows XP SP2, and the predecessor of IE7.

Internet Explorer 6 Application Compatibility VPC Image is a VPC hard disk image designed for testing websites on IE6 SP2. The IE6AC_VPC.EXE is a 387.4 MB file that will take 3 and a half hours to download over a DSL/Cable 256K connection. It contains Windows XP SP2 and up-to-date high-priority fixes; Internet Explorer 6.0 and the Internet Explorer 7 Readiness Toolkit, and expanded it reached 1.5 GB.

"Once you have completed the download, double-click file to expand the VHD file. Start Virtual PC and create a new VPC, and point to the files you just expanded. This VPC image will expire on 04/01/2007," Microsoft informed.

"It's pretty much the same as last time, though I had to create a new image, I did manage to get it a hair smaller. It'll have about a 4 month time bomb on it again, and the same EULA," said a Product Manager with the IE Developer Division.

Internet Explorer 6 Application Compatibility VPC Image 1.1 is available for download here.