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The software company is keeping tight-lipped on Internet Explorer 8's new features, causing grumbles among users who already have the next generation of Firefox and Opera to play with. However, the introduction of slipstreaming should address one of major headaches for IT professionals using Internet Explorer 7, which did not support the feature.

According to Microsoft's blog,

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the process of slipstreaming is also fairly quick: "If you're adding Internet Explorer 7 to a Windows XP image you'll typically install XP and then add IE7 before capturing the image - this can take two hours.

"With IE8 and Windows Vista, you are able to integrate IE8 into the image file of the original operating system in about 15 minutes. No more booting the OS image, manually installing IE and re-capturing the image. The slipstreaming support also extends to IE8 cumulative updates and language packages."

Slipstreaming is only possible using the Windows Automated Install Kit, which is currently only available for Vista and Server 2008.

Cynics might argue that the slipstream feature could be a way to repel the growing march of Firefox, giving IT managers a simple way to install Microsoft's browser on to hundreds or even thousands of new PCs as they come in the door.

You can read our review of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 here.