Microsoft releases Windows 7 XP mode

BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Microsoft said that it has issued an official Release Candidate for software that allows users of the forthcoming Windows 7 operating system to run a virtual edition of Windows XP from inside Win7 Wednesday.

Windows XP Mode, Release Candidate, is available as a download from Microsoft's Windows Web site. The software requires a PC equipped with virtualization capabilities, such as Intel's Virtualization Technology or AMD-V, to operate properly.

The reason why Microsoft added Windows XP Mode to Windows 7 is in response to user concerns that older applications will not run on Windows 7. The concerns were sparked by warnings from Redmond that Windows 7 is built on the same kernel as Vista. Many business applications built for XP proved incompatible with Vista—a fact that doomed Vista in the business market.

Microsoft hopes that the presence of Windows XP Mode will help Windows 7 avoid a similar fate, particularly among smaller companies that may lack the budget to rewrite their apps or buy new ones.

"Windows XP Mode is specially designed for small and medium-sized businesses to help ease the migration process to Windows 7 by providing additional compatibility for their older productivity applications," said Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft's in-house Windows blogger, in a post Tuesday.