Opera Software has announced the first public Beta of Opera 9. The version includes Widgets, small Web programs running in their own windows and integrated BitTorrent, the peer-to-peer file downloading technology. Other features touted are an easy-to-use content blocker and thumbnail previews of tabbed sites. However, speed is the key to internet browsers and, on that score, Firefox leaves Opera for dead. 

Downloading the Opera 9 beta was simple and importing bookmarks from either Internet Explorer or Firefox was dead simple. I haven't figured out all the bells and whistles yet but there is no doubting that this is a really feature rich offering.

In Opera Software's own words, new features in Opera 9 include:

* Widgets - Small Web applications (multimedia, newsfeeds, games and more) that make your desktop experience more fun. Any Web developer can create their own Widgets and share them, regardless of operating system. Try the Widgets in Opera 9 by pressing F6. Look for further development of Opera Widgets in future releases.

* BitTorrent - Instead of having to use a separate BitTorrent application for downloading large files, users can now simply click a torrent file and start the download

* Content blocker - Choose the content you want to view. Remove ads or images - it is up to you. Right-click on the Web page and choose "Block content"

* Improved rich text editing - Take advantage of rich text editing capabilities when using the latest Web mail or blogging services

* Customize your search engines – Use your favorite search engine in the search box. Right-click on the site's search field and select "Create search" from the menu

* Thumbnail preview – It's easy to have many tabs open at once in Opera. But exactly which tab had that video you wanted? Hover any tab to see a thumbnail preview

* Site-specific preferences - Do you need to view a site in a different way or deny certain cookies? Want to block pop-ups on certain sites only? Site specific preferences hold the key

"We're proud to release this Beta of Opera 9 to Web users around the world," said Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "Opera 9 brings powerful new features to enhance the Web browsing experience and empower Web 2.0 developers. Opera 9 unlocks new levels of productivity for  the Internet ecosystem."