Aug 12, 2010 15:14 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is reportedly gearing up to release another Beta development milestone for Windows Live Messenger Wave 4. Of course, any upcoming testing releases for the next generation of its instant messaging client would have to be accompanied by the rest of the Windows Live Essentials suite.

The Redmond company has yet to confirm that a second Beta for Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 is planned for availability.

According to a third-party source, the software giant could release Windows Live Essentials Beta 2 as early as next week. Additional Microsoft watchers are also noting that a Beta 2 will be offered the coming week, possibly on August 18th.

When it launched the first Beta development milestone for its Cloud-based extensions for Windows, Microsoft did not offer any sort of timetable related to the next stages of the development process.

In all fairness, the company has yet to confirm an official brand for the next iterations of Essentials, although speculation indicates that it has already opted for Windows Live Essentials 2011.

Additional detail related to the building of Windows Live Essentials vNext have also not been made public, including a deadline for its release.

Apparently, Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 Beta 2 would bring to the table a range of bug fixes, but also redesigned icons and new features.

Microsoft is also said to enable language settings for Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 with the advent of Beta 2. But all this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, as the software giant has yet to confirm the Beta 2 for Windows Live Essentials Wave 4.

The first Beta of Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 in the second half of June 2010, and the testing releases have been available for download ever since.

Early adopters can still grab Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, etc. and test drive them to get an idea of what the evolution to Wave 4 has to offer.

As announced previously, Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 can only be installed on Windows 7 or Windows Vista.

Read additional information about the new features of Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 here.

Download Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 Beta and the rest of Windows Live Essentials Wave 4
here.

Follow me on Twitter @MariusOiaga.