Microsoft has pledged to help programmers using Visual Studio and .NET Framework to create applications that are more secure and privacy-enhanced, as well as to simplify everyday development tasks.

Jason Zander, general manager of the Developer Division at Microsoft, told the TechEd conference that developers are under increasing pressure to deliver more complex applications that work across a variety of devices, but with fewer resources and less time.

"We continue to refine Visual Studio and the .NET Framework to help simplify the application development process, and ultimately improve the day-to-day experience for anyone building, managing, deploying or using applications and services," he said.

Zander highlighted some of the features found in the new service packs for Visual Studio 2008 and .NET Framework 3.5, as well as the Visual Studio 2010 and .Net Framework 4.0 releases.

Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 will give developers a 20 to 45 per cent performance improvement for Windows Presentation Foundation-based applications, a streamlined installation experience for client applications, and Windows Communication Foundation improvements that give developers more control over the way they access data and services, the company claimed.

Looking to the future, Zander hailed Visual Studio 2010 as "inspiring developer delight" and "riding the next-generation platform wave". He highlighted native support for Windows 7, better interoperability across Office Business Applications and enhancements to the C++ integrated development environment to support emerging trends such as parallel computing, cloud computing and web services.

Zander also announced new programmes and tools modelled after the company's internal Security Development Lifecycle that aims to help software developers create more secure and privacy-enhanced applications.

Microsoft has created a dedicated Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4 web site.