Sun Microsystems announced a new version of Sun xVM VirtualBox, its free and open source desktop virtualization software for developers and enterprise users.

xVM VirtualBox software lets users create "virtual machines" into which they can install their operating system (OS) of choice. As a result, users can access their favorite software using any OS and developers can build, test and run cross-platform, multi-tier applications on a single laptop or desktop computer. xVM VirtualBox software supports popular host OSs, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris and OpenSolaris.

A key component of Sun's desktop-to-datacenter virtualization portfolio, xVM VirtualBox 2.1 software, a 30 megabyte download, features a number of new enhancements, including: accelerated 3D graphics, improved network performance, and storage support. In addition, xVM VirtualBox 2.1 software offers improved support for:

Mac OS X on Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x), VMware's and Microsoft's Virtualization Formats, Intel Core i7 processor, and 64-bit guest OS on 32-bit host platforms.