Microsoft began the second beta test of a key virtualization tool this week, with the aim of helping to ease the way for corporate customers who are held back from migrating to Windows 7 due to incompatibilities with older programs.

“MED-V is a bridge to help you create a longer term plan for your more complex applications that may not be compatible with Windows 7 and are too costly to migrate at this exact moment,” Karri Alexion-Tiernan, Microsoft director of product management for desktop virtualization, said on Tuesday in a post to the Windows Blog.

“If you have legacy Windows XP or Internet Explorer 6/7 applications that are slowing down your Windows 7 deployment plans, don’t let them stand in your way,” Dave Trupkin, senior product manager for MED-V, said in a post to the Official MDOP Blog.