Microsoft has released patches for its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system, which is currently in beta. 

The two patches are necessary because Vista is subject to the same security holes addressed in other Microsoft products during the huge patch delivered on 8 August. 

The patches fix critical vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer and the Windows kernel as detailed in Microsoft Security Bulletins MS06-042 and MS06-051. 

Security patches are not normally issued for beta software, because no one is supposed to be using it in a critical environment. But Microsoft has issued patches for Vista before.

The patch, rated 'critical', covered a similar WMF flaw that hit the company's other operating systems a week earlier.

The vulnerability was in the Graphics Rendering Engine and could allow an attacker to gain control of a target machine. 

Some commentators have suggested that Microsoft has issued the patches to pre-empt security software companies creating 'we've found a hole in Vista' stories.