Microsoft is planning a Public Preview Beta of Windows Media Player 11 for XP on Wednesday, May 17th.
The final RTM release is scheduled for late June 06. Here is a list of features that will and will not be in the XP version:
Features in WMP 11 for XP (June 06):
* New UI
* Support for better synchronization for portable devices
* Album “stacks” of album art
* Indexed libraries with search-as-you-type features
* User controlled downgrade of quality for DRM content to allow for smaller files
* DRM content will contain metadata that shows what the user is allowed to do with the file
* Includes Microsoft and MTV’s Urge music store