Opera today set loose the beta of its Opera 11.10 browser, codenamed "Barracuda", which has been enhanced with smarter features and faster performance. The new beta can be downloaded for Windows, Mac and Linux computers from www.opera.com/browser/next/.

In the new browser, Opera Software has changed the Speed Dial feature, which makes it easier and faster for users to access sites. The number of Speed Dials is now unlimited, thanks to the new Speed Dial flow feature, which opens new Speed Dials dynamically as they are added by users. Customization options now include new layout choices, and an improved zoom slider lets users fit even 5-column layouts in their monitor.

Barracuda will also download the plug-in automatically and install it in the background.

Under-the-hood improvements include a new browser core as well as support for CSS3's multi-column layouts and gradients, the Web Open Font Format (WOFF) and Google's WebP image protocol.