Yes, Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 is out and about. Microsoft has officially confirmed that the testers have already begun joining the limited technical beta program for IE8 Beta 1. The Redmond company started sending out invitations the past week, and the first beta of the next iteration of Internet Explorer is already up for grabs on Microsoft Connect. The browser has been under development throughout 2007, with the IE Team placing strong emphasis on making it standards compliant.

Following the IE8 Beta 1 Technical Beta invitations, I approached Microsoft for some additional details. Today, February 29, 2008, a Microsoft spokesperson had this to say to Softpedia via email: "We are beginning to invite testers into the IE8 TechBeta program. We will also be opening IE8 Beta 1 to the public in the future, but have no more information on that at this time." Well, this isn't much, but it explains a few things.

First of all, the Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 screenshot made public this week is as real as they get, since the Technical Beta is already under way. And it also serves as an explanation of why some websites have been seen traffic coming from Internet Explorer 8, in addition to the other versions of the Microsoft proprietary browser.

However, despite some questions indicating that the IE8 Beta 1 was leaked, it seems that at this point in time this is not true. Microsoft did reveal that the public beta of IE8 is just around the corner, so if you are not among the privileged who got to play early with the Internet Explorer Beta 1 bits, I suggest you exercise your patience a tad longer. You are either way bound to get a taste of the browser at MIX08, no later than next week, courtesy of Dean Hachamovitch, IE General Manager.