Internet Explorer 10 gets an early preview

Well, this was unexpected. Just a month after the launch of IE 9, Microsoft has shown off a very early preview of what Internet Explorer 10 is to look like.

The developer preview is ready for devs to take a look at and marks the first step in Microsoft delivering HTML5 support.

In a blog post, Microsoft said of the browser: "We built IE9 from the ground up for HTML5 and for Windows to deliver the most native HTML5 experience and the best Web experience on Windows.

"IE10 continues on IE9's path, directly using what Windows provides and avoiding abstractions, layers, and libraries that slow down your site and your experience."

Start engaging

Microsoft is only three weeks into development so it is interesting that it has chosen to show off the browser to devs so early but, in its own words, "we want to start engaging the development community now."

"IE10 continues several patterns from IE9. In addition to the Platform Preview available for developers to download at www.ietestdrive.com, we have posted new test drives and over 500 new tests we've submitted to the standards bodies," said Microsoft.

"IE's approach to emerging standards results in less churn and more progress for developers. IE10 builds on full hardware acceleration and continues our focus on site-ready Web-standards. This combination enables developers to deliver the best performance for their customers on Windows while using the same, web-standard markup across browsers."

Microsoft is currently showing the browser off at MIX 2011, so we'll keep you posted about more Microsoft goodness throughout the week.

For now, though, check out the video by Channel 9 that shows of IE10.