Although we won't even see a beta of IE7 for some months, some details are starting to appear. Information about something like this was bound to leak, and of course it has, albeit just in a dribble. Seemingly, most enhancements are aimed at security, where the Microsoft browser has been under attack recently. Some sources have confirmed that IE7 is a tabbed browser, but there is no official confirmation. The browser will also feature international domain name (IDN) support; transparent Portable Network Graphics (PNG) support, which will allow for the display of overlayed images in the browser; and new functionality that will simplify printing from inside IE 7.0.
Microsoft has shared publicly that IE 7.0 will be focused primarily on improving security. Company officials said recently that Microsoft plans to make IE 7.0 available to Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Professional x64 users. A first beta of IE 7.0 is due out this summer.