Opera launches 8.02 preview with BitTorrent support

Opera today launched a technical preview of the Opera browser for Windows, Linux and Mac that includes support for BitTorrent. Integrating this popular file-downloading technology in the Opera browser offers the end user a faster download process by utilizing full bandwidth and reducing the chance of in-transfer delay when multiple users download the same file.

"While BitTorrent has been on Opera's radar screen for more than a year, the true value of the technology became evident when the company launched Opera 8 in April this year. The massive response, with more than 100 downloads per second, dealt a technical knock-out to Opera's servers. With BitTorrent, users would have had an alternative download mechanism," said Christen Krogh, VP of Engineering, Opera Software.

With BitTorrent, Opera hopes to make it easier for users to download the large amount of legal material available, such as Linux software and computer game demos. The Opera browser will also be offered for download as a torrent file.

Opera already supports other file protocols such as FTP and HTTP, and BitTorrent is the logical next step in the company's strategy to make protocols available that increase productivity and the overall Internet experience for the end-users. The BitTorrent protocol differs from FTP and HTTP in that it makes downloading a large file more efficient, as individuals downloading the same file will assist each other in the download process.

Opera emphasizes that the TP should be used for preview purposes only, and is available for download at the Opera Community beta forum.