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VMWare, this week, released VMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 2, a new free public beta of its software for running Windows (and other operating systems) within Mac OS X.

Beta 2 comes with plenty of cool features. The Windows/Mac integration, Unity, has been upgraded to version 2.0, and brings with it better application sharing and folder mirroring. Now, you can mirror your personal folders under Windows (like My Pictures, My Documents, etc.) with Mac folders, so when you save things into those folders in your virtual machine, they are already on your Mac and not trapped in the VM. 3D support and HD video support have both been improved too.

The update brings better utilities and performance, support for multiple screenshots, better gaming and full 1080p HD video acceleration at near-native speeds (with less CPU utilization). Adding more Windows-integration features, users can now share applications between Windows and Mac, launch Mac files with Windows applications (as well as Windows files with Mac applications) and also set web, email, and other links for to default to either Windows or Mac.

You can now run Leopard Server as a VM in OS X 10.4 and 10.5, even on client machines (virtualizing Mac OS X client is blocked by Apple's license terms). Support for the latest version of Ubuntu (Hardy Heron) is also available right out of the box with Unity integration. Power users can now designate up to four virtual CPUs per virtual machine, which is great for anyone wanting to take an XServe or Mac Pro to the next level.

DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 3D acceleration is also improved in the latest beta, offering broader support for running Windows games (without rebooting), VMware noted in its blog.

VMWare Fusion 2.0 beta 2 is available for Intel Macs running OS X 10.4 or OS X 10.5. New users can try the beta for free and the upgrade path (including future betas and the full version of Fusion 2.0) is free for all existing Fusion 1.0 customers.