Microsoft has announced that the latest beta of Windows Vista Service Pack Two (SP2) will be available to all on 4 December.

The code will be offered to MSDN and TechNet subscribers on 3 December, and anyone will be able to try out the code on 4 December through the company's Customer Preview Program (CPP).

"The CPP is intended for technology enthusiasts, developers and IT pros who would like to test SP2 in their environments and with their applications prior to final release," said Mike Nash, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows Product Management, in the Vista blog.

Nash explained that most customers would be better off waiting until the final release prior to installing this service pack.

"For those of you who choose to test this service pack, we encourage you to install the beta as soon as you can; your feedback will help us to ship a solid and stable service pack for Windows Vista," he said.

A small number of beta testers have had the code since October, but Microsoft obviously now feels that it is stable enough for general release.

The final code will be out in the first half of next year, but many believe it will come sooner rather than later as Microsoft seeks to gather support for the unpopular operating system.

Windows Vista SP2 contains improved support for Bluetooth devices, an updated Windows Search tool, support for Blu-ray devices and a host of other tweaks.