MS to parade IE 4.0 beta on Easter Monday

Microsoft is planning to hatch the first 'public preview' beta of Internet Explorer 4.0 on Easter Monday. UK Internet platforms product manager Martin Gregory said the software is likely to be available March 31, confounding some rumours that the software would miss its first quarter intended ship date by just beating the deadline.

The most recent version of the software released to private testers includes some 'push' functionality that allows Web sites to be broadcast to users' desktops, plus bug fixes.