OSLO, NORWAY: Opera today unveiled the second beta preview of the forthcoming Opera 9.5 desktop browser, code-named Kestrel. The new beta improves on security, speed and performance, while refining some of Opera's most popular features.

What's new in Opera 9.5 beta 2?

Quick Find - Forgotten the site where you found that perfect gift or idyllic vacation spot? Not to worry, Opera remembers all the text on a page you've visited. All you have to do is enter a few words you remember in the address bar and Opera will find the pages with that text. In the newest beta, you can also use Quick Find from your history tab, available under Tools --> History.

Opera Link - Opera Link is a free service that connects your Opera Speed Dial, Bookmarks and Personal Bar between Opera, Opera Mini, the award-winning free browser for your mobile phone, and the Web itself.

Improved Fraud Protection technology - Now Opera keeps you even safer from fraudulent Web sites. Our Fraud Protection now complements PhishTank's community-powered anti-phishing database with NetCraft's phishing site database.

Support for Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificates - Opera supports EV SSL certificates to provide additional assurance and trust for your online transactions.

Powerful Performance - Opera has been the leader in providing full-featured browsing without compromising the performance of the browser. In the new beta we have optimized performance on a number of fronts including substantial gains in the RSS feed reader, Quick Find, and start-up time on Macs. These along with other subtle changes to performance make Opera even faster and more protective of your system memory.

E-mail enlightened - Opera's built-in e-mail client features faster retrieval of your e-mails, quicker searching through archived mails and is more responsive.

"We're pleased with the progress we've made towards the release of Opera 9.5," said Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. "We've had contributions from millions of people who use Opera. Their suggestions - for improving features, for crushing bugs - have helped reach this milestone. We welcome their continued candor, suggestions and feedback as we improve Opera 9.5 ahead of its final release."

"I am a long time Opera user, and Opera 9.5 has brought the best improvements. Opera Link is awesome, site compatibility works better than ever," says Carlos Lamarca from Rio de Janeiro. "It's amazing to find out all the cool features Opera 9.5 brings."

Click here to download the latest version of Kestrel.