Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate 1 (RC1) in 25 languages for Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server is now available. Download the bits from IE8 RC1

More than 80% faster than IE7 in common micro-benchmarks and designed for the way people really use the web, IE8 is:

  • Faster for accomplishing tasks, from mapping a location to checking the status of an auction.  In side-by-side measures of speed, IE8 was as fast or faster than Firefox in opening top websites more than 50% of the time.  The rest of the time you need an ultra-slow motion video camera to catch the difference between IE8, Firefox and Google Chrome.
  • Easier to find information, to navigate, to search, to work with tabs. Accelerators and Web Slices blur the lines between the online services that make each person’s browsing unique and the browser itself, making the IE8 experience richer.Try it: Go to the search box in the top right, and type a search item—see how the enhanced Instant Search Box is more helpful, providing real-time search suggestions, including images, from your chosen search provider.
  • Safer and more reliable with advanced privacy protection that no other browser can match.Try it: Click on a new tab, and see the options that are presented there, including “InPrivate Browsing.”  Click InPrivate Browsing and watch what happens—you are now in a browser session that is leaving no trail behind, so research gift suggestions for your significant other to your heart’s content without worrying about who might pick up the crumbs after you.

Harder to see are the many security enhancements that will help keep you protected against the ever-evolving online threats—things like protection from cross-site scripting attacks that no other browser offers.

Internet Explorer 8 in Windows 7 is on a separate release path from the RC1 of IE8 available broadly now. For Windows 7, use the IE8 build that is included. It will be refreshed on a separate schedule.