Imagine being able to run another operating system on your computer, withouthaving to reboot your machine or having to leave Windows. The options areendless. You could purchase a copy of Windows Vista and use it within a virtualenvironment, getting used to the new features and testing it with your hardware,before you decide to implement it on your work system.

Another option would be to install Windows XP on top of Windows XP, purely asa test bed for software you plan to install on your system. This has a number ofadvantages - you're less likely to get spyware on your computer as software hasbeen installed within a virtual ?closed box' environment. Your Registry is keptlean as software isn't installed on your regular computer, unless absolutelynecessary. Also, you can install just about any software title, uninstall, andthen decide whether it meets your requirements, before you install on your workmachine.

If you're a software developer or tester, you can also install multipleoperating systems. For example, you could have an old copy of Windows 98SE,Windows XP and the new Windows Vista, to test whether your software workssuccessfully across each operating system.

VMware Workstation is desktop virtualisation software that is designed toallow people to run multiple operating systems, simultaneously, on a single PC.You're not restricted to Windows-based operating systems, either. Why not useVMWare Workstation to host a Linux-based operating system? If you're nervousabout installing Ubuntu on your machine, why not first test it within yourvirtual environment.

New features include Unity, where you can show guest software on yourexisting operating system, as well as improved 3D graphics support and more.Another key highlight is support for a secure virtual environment, so you cannow take your virtual OS on the road, on a USB key, use on a host machine andleave no trace behind on the host PC.

This latest 7.0 supports Windows 7.

Note the download here will just take you to the download page on the VMwarewebsite, where you'll need to open a VMware account.