Opera releases update to browser

Opera Software released the second test, or "beta," of its version 7 browser for use with the Windows operating system. This beta adds features such as a "fast-forward" tool, for scrolling more quickly through a multipage Web site; an automated password manager called "The Wand"; a panel that displays a page's links; and multiuser style sheets.

Opera 7 is the first of the company's browsers with a newly built rendering engine and mail client. Opera rebuilt the software for speed, as well as to make it more compatible with the Document Object Model (DOM), an emerging standard technology that lets scripts such as JavaScript act on individual elements of a Web page. The software is available for download from Opera's Web site in both advertising-supported and paid versions.