Silverlight 2.0 to launch early next year

Instead of labeling the next version of its Silverlight cross-platform browser plug-in 1.1, Microsoft will call it 2.0, and will release a beta version early next year, according to a corporate blog post Thursday.

Microsoft had already released an alpha version of Silverlight 1.1. "After stepping back and looking at all the new features in it ... we've realized that calling it a point release doesn't really reflect the true nature of it," wrote Scott Guthrie, general manager in the company's developer division. "Consequently we have decided to change the name and refer to it as 'Silverlight V2.0' going forward."

Guthrie also said the upcoming beta release will have a go-live license, meaning programmers can immediately create and deploy applications based on Silverlight 2.0.