Details have appeared about the future availability of a new feature pack for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

The 'Windows Feature Pack for Storage' has been in beta testing for a while, but has now appeared on Microsoft Connect.

The three main features available in the beta are as follows:

• Active Storage Platform: This pre-release package enables Windows to restrict access to portable devices (such as a USB flash dongles) via a certificate or password authentication
  
• Image Mastering API update for Blu-Ray media: This feature enables Windows to do master style optical burning on Blu-Ray media
  
• Smart Card Driver: Provides support for new form factors, such as ICCD/CCID

Unlike Service Packs which generally bundle a set of fixes and security patches, feature packs are intended to deliver additional functionality between Windows releases.