With Opera's latest alpha release of version 10 of its browser available, we though we'd take a look at some of its new features.

The big change in the page rendering code isn't immediately visible. This release is supposed to be 30% faster at displaying complex pages than its predecessor. Though you can't see the inner-workings of the process behind the scenes, you can experience it easily enough with a little browsing. Pages load quickly and smoothly, made all the more impressive by the fact that Opera's not cutting any corners in standards compatibility to achieve its performance, as testified to by its Acid3 Test score, measuring standards compliance.

Opera touts its browser's new in-line spell checker, which works just as you'd expect from any word processor: red underline and a drop-down list of suggested spellings. The dictionary support seems solid on first impressions, not tripping up on some more common slang words.

Another new claim Opera is able to make with this alpha release is that the browser finally supports automatic update checks to keep you up on the latest bug fixes and security patches.

The browser's integrated email client gets the full-HTML treatment, letting you use the markup language to fill your messages with custom font options, as well as embedding URLs and images. Of course, plain text is still an option for a cleaner, more professional look.

For web developers, the program's integrated debugger, Opera Dragonfly, has been updated. Now you can edit the Document Object Model and analyze the low-level communications between the browser and a server.

You can check out Opera version 10 alpha yourself, available as a free download for Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms at Opera's website.

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