Internet Explorer 8 is evolving to the next level, even though it is still in Beta stage. However, the evolution does not mark the jump from Beta 1 to Beta 2 stage, but the introduction of new capabilities along with this month's security patches for the browser. In this context, Microsoft made available the first update for Internet Explorer 8 through Windows Update. Terry McCoy, Program Manager Internet Explorer Security revealed that the Redmond giant had started serving the IE8 Beta 1 June Security Update through WU.

"If you are using IE8 Beta 1 for Developers, we encourage you to download this security update through Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Center today," McCoy stated. The update was initially released on June 10, 2008, concomitantly with the company's monthly patch cycle, and the IE Cumulative Security Update for June 2008. The release was pushed through the Download Center and up for grabs for the various versions of Windows which support Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1.

However, the links for the IE8 Beta 1 update via the Download Center as well as the associated Knowledge Base article are no longer functional at this point in time. In this regard, IE Beta 1 end users that have not manually downloaded and integrated the update with the latest iteration of the Internet Explorer browser will have to turn to Windows Update for the refresh.

The IE8 Beta 1 June Security Update delivers the bulletins designed to address security vulnerabilities including the Critical HTML Objects Memory Corruption flaw, and the Request Header Cross-Domain Information Disclosure hole rated as Important. An additional modification aimed at web content developers and designers is also provided via a meta-tag set up to instruct IE8 to render a website's content as its predecessor, Internet Explorer 7.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 is available for download here.