Virtual PC 2007 is a classic virtualisation tool that allows you to create virtual PCs into which you can install just about any x86-compliant operating system.

You can also run pre-prepared virtual machines. Microsoft is currently offering a 30-day time-limited virtual machine of Windows Vista for evaluation purposes.

Home versions of XP and Vista aren't included in the official list of supported host OSes, but there are reports that it will actually work despite being a licensing grey area.

Versatile software

This software doesn't really give the impression of being quite as polished as the VMware Player. However, it does get one over in another area.

Whereas VMware only lets you run pre-prepared virtual machines, Virtual PC offers the major advantage that you can install any guest operating systems for which you have the distribution media.

A drawback is that there is a noticeable processing overhead – actions in a guest operating system are slower than on the host.