Today I noticed the “WinXP SP2 IE6 VPC Image” was added to Microsoft downloads.  The image is a 290 Meg download, and extracts to just over 1 Gig. The image itself is:

  • Windows XP SP2 with IE6
  • latest production release of the VM Additions (13.552). 
  • Includes the IE7 readiness Toolkit

From what I understand (briefly firing up the VM) it is designed to give a fully operational toolset to developers to test websites.  A snippet is below:

Use this toolkit to evaluate what’s new in Internet Explorer 7 and find information and tools to help you test the compatibility of your sites, extensions, and applications with Internet Explorer 7. Microsoft is eager to give you a head start and ensure that the transition to Internet Explorer 7 is seamless for you and your audience.

Nice, download it, run it, use it.  Gotta be happy with that.