The next version of Firefox is almost fully baked, with the release of what one would assume is the penultimate beta test version on Thursday.

Some of the major differences from beta 2 involve the browser's Private Browsing Mode, TraceMonkey JavaScript engine, and new standards support. The release comes just a week before the expected final release of Microsoft's market-leading Internet Explorer 8.

One oddity on Mozilla's Developer Center Web pages is that the browser version is called 3.5. Has the foundation decided that its upcoming version deserves a bigger bump? When PCMag.com questioned Mozilla reps, they pointed us to a post by Firefox head honcho Mike Beltzner, entitled "Firefox 3.1 may become Firefox 3.5."

In the post, Beltzner posits that "Shireteko," the codename for the next browser version, is far more than a small incremental improvement and therefore may merit a larger version jump. The post goes on to propose that the next beta of what was version 3.1 be called Firefox 3.5 beta 4—somewhat confusing, but with its own logic nevertheless. The nomenclature on the developer pages indicates that this proposal has taken hold.

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