Wordpress 2.6 Beta 1 is avaliable for download. An announcement has been made by Ryan Boren. Lead developer Ryan Boren says that they will be expecting a release in mid-July. There are some new features been added to 2.6.

• Download Link

Here is a small list of new features, you can click here to read Ryan Boren’s post about this release and to see the full list of new features.

• Theme previewing as seen on WordPress.com
• Built-in word counting in the post editor
• The ability to disable remote publishing for the security conscious
• XML-RPC API for changing blog options
• Better SSL support for the Admin
• Hierarchy-aware paging in the Manage Pages and Manage Categories admin pages.
• The ability to relocate your content directory
• The ability to move wp-config.php out of your web root
• Drag-and-drop sortable galleries
• Customizable default avatars

A demo is available at here. You can access to admin panel and see the new features.