The latest Microsoft hardware virtualization software, Virtual PC 2007 is now available as beta for download. Virtual PC allows you to run multiple operating systems at the same time on a single computer and you can easily switch between virtual machines with the click of a button. You can use Virtual PC to run many different versions of operating systems (such as MS-DOS®, Windows 98, Windows XP or OS/2) All while moving forward with your deployment of Windows Vista. 

Virtual PC 2007 lets you run additional operating systems on Windows Vista, without using multiple computers. This allows you to proceed with your Windows Vista deployment, rather than delay because of application incompatibility. Your organization can take full advantage of the new features and capabilities in Windows Vista and still provide end users access to run their legacy mission-critical applications, allowing you to realize your return on investment faster than other short-term solutions.

[Excerpt from the whitepaper]

Virtual PC 2007 is next version of Virtual PC and includes all the previous features and capabilities found in Virtual PC 2004, plus the following improvements:

• Optimized for Windows Vista. The virtualization architecture has been optimized for Windows Vista to provide improvements in performance, system resource usage, and stability.
• Improved performance based on Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. Virtual PC 2007 leverages the performance improvements introduced in Virtual Server 2005 R2.
• Provides support for 64-bit host operating systems. You can run Virtual PC 2007 on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. This means you can run 16-bit operating systems (such as Windows 98 SE) which are not supported natively on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista.
• Provides support for sound devices in Windows Vista guest operating systems. Virtualized sound device drivers are available to Windows Vista guest operating systems. This allows Windows Vista guest operating systems to play sounds through the host operating system sound devices. Other guest operating systems will continue to have sound support as it exists in Virtual PC 2004 today.
  

Virtual PC 2007 Beta Program
Program Start Date: 10/10/2006
Program End Date: 3/30/2007
Nomination Start Date: 10/10/2006
Nomination End Date: 3/30/2007

Release Notes
Complete Virtual PC 2007 Beta Release Notes are included in the installer and provide important information and usage instructions for the new features. After installation, the Release Notes can be located in '%windows%\Program Files\Microsoft Virtual PC\Documentation\English'.

Download Virtual PC 2007 Beta [Both the 32-bit version and 64-bit version of Virtual PC 2007 Beta are available]
Download Using Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 for Application Compatibility White Paper