Some web services like Browsershots, standalone versions or virtualization was used to test a website in various Internet Explorer versions. This could be a thing of the past with the release if IE Tester (via Ajaxian), a standalone application that provides access to the rendering and javascript engines of Internet Explorer 8 beta 1, Internet Explorer 7, Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Explorer 5.5.

A basic tab driven browser interface is provided that can display a website using each version of Internet Explorer on a per tab basis. It comes with a few additional controls like back and forward buttons and access to the Internet Options.

The most interesting feature by far is the ability to display tabs next to each other to be able to compare them on the same screen without having to switch between tabs. The software is an early alpha release with several problems like Java instances not working or Flash not working in IE6. It still works pretty well for most websites that do not make use of advanced scripts.