The new version of Windows Media Player is available for Windows XP users and offers a taste of how Windows Vista will look as well as a general overhaul.

The player looks much cleaner with a much better use of screen space. Each task tab can also be used to access a menu with more options, much more intuative than the old version. The main menu is now accessed with a right click anywhere in the program frame.

Unfortunately none of the premium content is available in the UK as yet.

When the Urge music service becomes available it is claimed that there will be two million songs with exclusives from MTV, VH1 and CMT and 130 radio stations. Protected content will not be compatible with iPods. For a list of compatible media players see the Microsoft PlaysForSure website.

The copying of music to devices is also easier with a visual guage to show how much space is available.

The library can now include recorded TV programmes.

Backup options are also improved, collectioned burnt to CD can now span several discs or you can make a data disk for backups.