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Parallels released the latest version of its Windows virtualization software for Mac computers, which it claims remains faster and more powerful than VMware's rival app.

Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac boasts 70 new features, including compatibility with the latest, highest-end versions of Windows 7 and Mac OS X, full support for Windows' enhanced graphics user interface, Aero, and deeper integration between Windows and Mac such that users won't notice when switching back and forth between the environments.

Many of those features and improvements, such as the deeper Windows-Mac integration, are also available in VMware Fusion 3.0 , which was launched last month.

Parallels releases new software for Mac | Parallels tweaks virtualisation with new GUI | Parallels launches first virtualised workstation

The difference, according to Parallels' CEO Serguei Beloussov, is that Parallels deploys these features in a better and faster way than Fusion.

For instance, in addition to debuting a new Crystal mode that completely replaces Windows user interface elements with the Mac's, Parallels 5.0 also lets virtualised Windows apps be controlled by Apple's multi-touch trackpad gestures such as pinch, swipe and rotate. Users can also cut and paste formatted text and layouts between applications running in Windows or Linux guests and the native Mac OS X.

Beloussov also cited a study by Crimson Consulting commissioned by Parallels that shows the 64-bit version of Windows 7 to run 22 percent faster on a MacBook Pro using Parallels than on Fusion. Parallels also transmits data over networks and USB faster than Fusion, he said, displays graphics and video better and uses less Mac CPU cycles, resulting in better battery life.

One user of the Parallels 5 beta who agrees is Simon Loffler, a web designer in Australia.

"The UI is so much better. Everything feels tighter and better thought-out, and the config buttons on the bottom of the VM window are intuitive yet minimal," he said."[Parallels 5.0 also] seems to require less resources than Parallels 4.0, as OS X runs slightly smoother."

Despite an intermittent problem with the driver for a Logitech steering wheel for games, Loffler rated the new version "overall, a very nice upgrade from Parallels 4" that he said "totally beats" VMware's Fusion 2 (Loffler hasn't used Fusion 3).

Parallels 5 lists for $79.99 and includes several other utilities from Kaspersky and Acronis. An upgrade version costs $49.99.

First introduced in mid-2006 shortly after Apple released its Intel-based Macs, Parallels for Mac has two million users.

Parallels beat VMware to market by a year. Though a much smaller company than VMware, Parallels relies heavily on Mac virtualisation sales (about out one-fifth of total revenue) and thus invests accordingly, says Beloussov.

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