Microsoft released to the public Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP, describing it as a significant milestone for music fans and the digital entertainment experience on Windows.

This latest version of Windows Media Player offers consumers a test-drive of the capabilities in Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista, including enhanced search and media management technologies, a visually driven user interface, and optimized support for portable music players.

"Windows Media Player 11 is the first media player to be truly designed with the digital entertainment lover in mind, " said Mike Sievert, corporate vice president of Windows at Microsoft. "The fresh, exciting new look, the ability to find songs and videos in an instant, and the enhanced capabilities for syncing with portable devices are not only exactly what customers have asked us for, they're also a preview of what's to come in Windows Vista."

Windows Media Player 11 features seamless integration with URGE, MTV Networks Co.'s digital music service. The fast search capabilities of Windows Media Player 11 provide consumers with instant access to the entire URGE catalog of more than 110, 000 artists and 2 million songs.

"MTV Networks' collaboration with Microsoft on Media Player 11 gives URGE users a fully immersive and integrated music and entertainment experience, " said Michael Bloom, vice president of Digital Music at MTV Networks and general manager of URGE. "Our expertise in music programming and design combined with Microsoft's technology gives music fans the best way to discover and stay connected with the music and artists they love."

The search capabilities of Windows Media Player 11 also enable consumers to easily scroll through and access music fast, whether the library contains 50 or 50, 000 tracks. The Instant Search in Windows Media Player 11 provides results that instantly narrow with each keystroke, whether the consumer is searching in a personal library or browsing URGE. Drag-and-drop capabilities make building playlists and moving music to portable players easier than ever.

Microsoft encourages all customers of genuine Windows to download Windows Media Player free of charge at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia . People currently using earlier versions of Windows Media Player will also be notified of the availability of Windows Media Player 11 through a pop-up alert, and Microsoft encourages customers to click on the alert for access to the download.