This is it! And, yes, you have read right! Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 1 Build 3244 is finally available for download. Microsoft has debuted the testing process of the third and final service pack for Windows XP in mid 2007. Back in July, the first pre-beta version of XP SP3 shipped alongside early builds of Windows Vista SP1 to a select pool of testers. With Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, at the helm of the Windows project, both Vista SP1 and XP SP3 passed through development milestones at a fast pace, and both are almost finalized.

Microsoft has made available XP SP3 RC1 to MSDN and TechNet subscribers at the beginning of December. But, at the same time, the Redmond company reinstated the promise to drop a public variant of the third service pack for XP. Now, XP SP3 RC1 Build 3244 is available for download straight from Microsoft via a link that points to Windows Update. The Release Candidate 1 of XP SP3 is offered as

"windowsxp-kb936929-sp3-x86-enu_a2ca583dedcd86837796111a632efa29a23f4cc0.exe".

As you can very well see from the screenshots integrated at the bottom of this article, you will be able to download an install Build 2600.xpsp.071030 : Service Pack 3, v3244. The download weights in at some 336 MB, and it is the near final release of the upcoming refresh for Windows XP. Microsoft has not breathed a single official word about the imminent public release of XP SP3, but the build number points to the fact that the download is the same variant of the service pack offered to MSDN and TechNet subscribers.

"Windows XP SP3 combines all previously released performance, security, and stability updates. It also provides a limited number of new and enhanced functionalities, although it does not significantly change the Windows XP experience or bring functionality from newer versions of Windows to Windows XP", revealed Microsoft in the official Overview of Windows XP Service Pack 3.

Windows XP SP3 Build 3244 is available for download here.