Microsoft has released test versions of its Exchange Server 2007 email managing software and a security package designed to complement it.

The company expected to have fine-tuned final versions of Exchange Server 2007 and Forefront Security for Exchange on the market by early next year.

Home stretch

"Today we enter the home stretch of delivering an unparallelled messaging solution, providing our customers with a cost-effective way to meet their most challenging messaging needs including compliance management and protection against constantly evolving security threats," said Dave Thompson, corporate vice president of the Exchange Business Unit at Microsoft.

Exchange Server 2007 improves security, privacy and efficiency for the program, which is used to manage email and calendars, according to Microsoft.

Forefront Security for Exchange uses advanced tools to fight computer viruses, worms and unwanted spam, to provide online protections "needed in the world today," according to Thompson.

Test versions of Exchange Server 2007 can be downloaded from Microsoft websites.