Microsoft to Test New Hotmail Interface

Microsoft is preparing to publicly test its new front end Hotmail, code-named "Kahuna" and simply branded: Mail Beta. The upgrade will support an AJAX-based interface that has been rewritten from the ground up using Microsoft's Atlas framework and a new architecture known as FireAnt.

Explaining the new Mail Beta, program manager Imran Qureshi said, "Some would call it a blank slate I guess. When we asked customers what they wanted the main theme was clear: Make it faster, make it simpler and make it safer. It couldn't have been clearer." Interested Hotmail users can now sign up for the Mail Beta test.