Microsoft has confirmed that it will release a public beta of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP sometime in the first three months of 2006.

Dean Hachamovitch, who leads the IE team, said that IE 7 will hit the beta trail "during the first calendar quarter of 2006."

IE 7, which features tabs, RSS support, and stronger security, is being developed for both Windows XP and Windows Vista.

"We want to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to try a pre-release version of IE 7 and tell us how it works with their Web sites, their applications, their add-ons, and how they use the Web overall," wrote Hachamovitch on the IE group's blog Tuesday.

Previously, Microsoft had said it would release the final of the Windows XP version of IE 7 prior to the late-2006 launch of Vista.