Opera launches 8.0 beta for Linux

Opera Software has released a beta of its next browser, version 8.0, for the Linux platform on Thursday, following December's release of the Windows version.

This new version of Opera features voice technology that allows users to browse the Web and check their email using spoken commands. By using the appropriate command Web users can make scroll around a Web page, read highlighted text out loud and follow links.

A spokesman for Opera said this technology allows people to interact with their browser in a more natural way.

"Our vision is to improve human and computer communications," said the spokesman. "You should be able to communicate with technology in the same way as we communicate with each other."

In the future Opera hopes that Web sites will have better voice-enabled functionality, which will simplify common tasks such as ordering a pizza online or finding flights.

The spokesman said the voice technology will also be incorporated into mobile phones soon, which is likely to be useful as some phone users find it difficult to use a small keypad to browse the Internet.

"We will incorporate the technology into mobile phones down the line," said the spokesman. "As we use the same browser in phones this shouldn't be that hard. I expect this will be available for mobile phones not that long after the desktop version."

The new browser also includes an updated and more prominent RSS tool, and rendering technology designed to cut out the need for horizontally scrolling across Web pages, regardless of screen size. The same technology also means that online content can be printed on any size of paper without losing the information at the edges.

Opera chief executive Jon von Tetzchner has promised that people who have licensed Opera 7 will receive free upgrades when the new version is officially released.

Opera has not yet revealed what the final version will be called. It is likely to be called Opera 8.0 rather than the next logical version number of 7.6 given it has so many new features. The 'about' page of the beta version refers to itself as version 8.0.

The beta can be downloaded from Opera's Web site.

ZDNet UK's Ingrid Marson reported from London. For more coverage from ZDNet UK, click here.