Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 web browser has moved one step closer to its official release.

The company posted the first Release Candidate build of the new browser on Monday, taking it out of beta status.

Among the changes in the latest update are improved protection from so-called clickjacking attacks, along with a number of stability and compatibility fixes.

Microsoft warned that the release candidate should not be installed on systems running the Windows 7 beta, as the new browser is bundled with the operating system and requires a separate update.

No official release date has been set for IE8, but Dean Hachamovitch, team general manager for Internet Explorer, said in a blog posting that "the IE8 product is effectively complete and done".

"We will be very selective about what changes we make between the Release Candidate and the final product, and very clear in communicating them," he added. "We will act on the most critical issues."