At the beginning of this month, specifically on March 5, Dean Hachamovitch, General Manager Internet Explorer, launched the first public beta of Internet Explorer 8 at the MIX08 conference in Las Vegas. Hachamovitch emphasized from the get-go that the build was addressed not so much at the general public as at web content developers by marking a consistent leap in terms of standards support. But undoubtedly there are a variety of questions revolving around the subject of Microsoft's next iteration of the IE browser. For some of them the Redmond company already has answers in place. Moreover, Microsoft is also offering for download a document in which it has compiled the IE8 Beta 1 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

"In Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers, the browser architecture has been reengineered to address interoperability with other browsers and will offer additional support for popular standards. Most notably, it will include improved support for the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) 2.1 specification and it renders the ACID2 test correctly. In addition, Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers will offer enhancements to DOM L2 & HTML support. Our goal for the final release is complete CSS 2.1 support," Microsoft revealed.

The resource is structured in three parts and it offers an overview over what are the new features and functionality that IE8 Beta 1 brings to the table in comparison to its predecessor. Additionally, there is also data about the beta release. And Microsoft is focused on getting the corporate environment familiarized with IE8 Beta 1, placing emphasis on the role of the development milestone build for businesses. One thing is clear even at this point in time. Microsoft does not recommend IE8 Beta 1 for either end users or businesses.

"Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers is a developer and designer focused release and is not feature complete. We do not recommend deploying Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 for Developers broadly in a business context. A broader, more consumer and business focused beta will follow later this calendar year," the company revealed.

IE8 Beta 1 is available right here on Softpedia.