Windows 7, Build 7000, the version to be used in the beta test, leaked onto BitTorrent sites during the Christmas holidays.

Those expecting a complete redo of Windows will probably be disappointed; Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer call it only a fixed version of Vista.

Microsoft for the first time unveiled Windows 7 features at its Los Angeles Professional Developers Conference in October. Microsoft said it isn’t planning to officially release beta copies of Windows 7 until its MSDN developers’ conference in January. A final version of the OS isn’t expected until late 2009 or early 2010.