Microsoft has released the Release Candidate (RC) 1 of Internet Explorer 8. It is now available for Windows XP, Windows Vista 32 bit & 64 bit versions. This release will not work on Windows 7 Beta.

What’s new in IE 8 RC1:

• Accelerators- View driving directions, translate words, email your discoveries on the web to others, and more in just a few mouse clicks. Complete your everyday browsing activities more quickly with the new Accelerator feature.
• Privacy- Surf the web without saving your history, shop for that special gift with confidence knowing your family won’t accidentally find out, or use a shared computer without leaving a trace with new InPrivate Browsing and InPrivate Filtering features.
• Web Slices- The new Web Slice feature provides up-to-the-minute information on the sites you care about most in one convenient place on the new Favorites bar.
• Smart Search- Let the Instant Search Box do the thinking for you as instantaneous image and text suggestions appear as you type.
• Security- The new SmartScreen Filter lets you browse and email more safely by helping to protect against deceptive and malicious websites which can compromise your data, privacy, and identity.
• Compatibility View- Browse in compatibility view if you see display problems on a website like misaligned text, images, or text boxes.

Download Internet Explorer 8 RC1