Internet Explorer 9 Beta Launching September 15

Microsoft yesterday began sending out invitations for a special event to selected members of the press, VIPs and developers. Microsoft says the event will serve as a chance to "Celebrate the Beauty of the Web" and perhaps more importantly, as a launch pad for Internet Explorter 9 Beta.

Microsoft's James Pratt wrote about the invitation in a blog post and detailed that IE9 has been well received so far, with 2.5 millions downloads of the platform previews since MIX, in March of this year.

He also included a screen shot of the invitation, because space constraints meant they had to keep the attendee list small.

Since space is limited at the event and not many invites have been sent out, I captured what the invite process looks like so everyone could see. Invitees get an e-mail invitation with a link to a special HTML5 website. To RSVP, they have to complete a word puzzle by typing the letters shown on the screen : Unlock the _ _ _ _ _ _ webThe letters they have to work with are V E A N T I and the solution is a single word.Once the puzzle is complete, the RSVP button appears so they can RSVP for the event.

Microsoft has launched four developer previews since MIX, but has yet to commit to a date for the full release.

Source: The Microsoft Blog