Feb 14, 2011 19:33 GMT  ·  By

Go ahead and add yet another operating system on the list of supported platforms for Internet Explorer 9. But no, unfortunately, Windows XP users will still not get the next generation of IE. Well, not unless they buy a Windows Phone 7 device and exercise their patience a little.

Microsoft just announced that it will make available a mobile flavor of Internet Explorer 9 as a part of the evolution of Windows mobile 7.

According to the software giant, IE9 Mobile will introduce a "a dramatically enhanced mobile Web browser experience" for users of Windows Phone 7 devices.

The Redmond company expects to deliver IE9 Mobile as it will update Windows Phone 7 later this year.

IE9 "will feature the same standards support (HTML5, etc.) and hardware accelerated graphics as the PC version," Lees stated.

A specific availability deadline for IE9 Mobile wasn’t provided at this point in time. However, Microsoft did indicate that customers should expect the Windows Phone 7 browser upgrade sometime in the second half of 2011.

Just last week, the software giant announced a strategic alliance with Nokia, with the Finish phone maker embracing Windows Phone 7 as its main strategy moving forward.

Since release, Microsoft and its OEM partners have already sold over 2 million WP7 smartphones, a number which is bound to explode once Nokia starts shipping its first devices powered by the latest iteration of the Redmond company’s mobile platform.

“So far we’ve had a fantastic reaction from customers, with a 93 percent customer satisfaction rate and nine out of 10 customers saying they are likely to recommend [the phone] to someone else,” said Andy Lees, president of Microsoft’s Mobile Communications Business.

“All of this contributed to Nokia choosing us. And with this partnership, we are taking another big step toward driving global scale, reach and impact.”

Additional functionality, features and applications will be delivered to Windows Phone 7 in 2011, including copy and paste, Twitter integration, Support for Office Web Apps, multitasking apps.

On the desktop, Internet Explorer 9 has reached the Release Candidate development stage. The feature complete IE9 RC is available for download for Windows 7 and Windows Vista SP2 users.

IE9 has already been downloaded over 25 million times while in Beta.

IE9 RC Supports HTML5 Geolocation, Advances Interoperability

IE9 Privacy and Security Evolve with the RC, Tracking Protection Now Available

IE9 RC Sports a UI Facelift

IE9 RC Performance Superior to IE9 Beta, to All Rival Browsers

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) Release Candidate (RC) Build 9.0.8080.16413 is available for download here.