Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac adds touch support for Windows 8

Parallels has updated its Parallels Desktop for Mac virtualisation software with expanded support for Microsoft's Windows 8 platform, providing touch control for users running Windows 8 apps on a Mac.

Although Parallels announced Desktop 8 for Mac back in August with some measure of support for Windows 8, the update adds better support for the Windows 8 gestures and other enhancements such as a tile added to the Windows 8 user interface that provides access to shared Mac apps.

Also new is full USB 3.0 support for peripheral devices, increased virtual machine resources for running more demanding apps, and updated Retina display settings to optimise the way Windows apps appear on a high-res Retina screen.

Parallels Desktop for Mac has long allowed Apple users to choose whether they want to run a full-screen virtual Windows session, or whether a specific Windows app just displays on the Mac desktop as if it were a native application, in a feature dubbed Coherence. Users can also drag-and-drop files freely between the two environments.

At launch in August, Desktop 8 for Mac enabled the Dictation tool OS X Mountain Lion's to be used in Windows apps, and added a button to Safari to open sites in the Windows 8 IE browser, for any sites that may require this.

Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac is available from the Parallels website for £65, while existing users (Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac and above) can upgrade for £35.