Microsoft Wednesday outlined new security features it will add to Internet Explorer (IE) next month, including anti-malware protection to match tools similar to those offer by its rivals and a filter the company said would block most cross-site scripting attacks.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2, which Microsoft has slated for release sometime in August, will include two new security tools, said Austin Wilson , the director of Windows client product management.

Internet Explorer 7 introduced a phishing filter, and IE8 Beta 2 goes beyond this with features designed to warn surfers about sites that harbour malware, as well as those designed to trick users into handing over ebanking login credentials and such to crooks. Users who stray onto sites infected with Trojans will be confronted by a full-screen warning. The combined anti-phishing and malware defence will be branded as Microsoft SmartScreen filter.