Microsoft is testing a new Silverlight version of its product download center, likely in an attempt to gauge customer reaction to installing the Silverlight runtime in order to download software. When some visitors head to the existing product download center, they are prompted to participate in a limited test of the new site. Clicking accept on the dialog brings them to a page prompting them to install Silverlight.
The new product download center does not appear to contain any substantial benefit over the current version. There are some mouseover effects on the downloads which provide users with a bit more information, but clicking on any of the links takes you to the same HTML page as with the existing site.
The new Microsoft Download Center powered by Silverlight is available online at preview.microsoft.com/downloads.
