Apple created a stir several weeks ago when it released Boot Camp, a program for their Intel based Macintosh that allowed people to run Windows XP and all of its programs. Now CNET News reports on a new start up company called Parallels that has been testing a product that allows people to run both Windows and Mac OSs on an Intel based Mac at the same time, rather than switching between the two operating systems. The company is now selling the software for $49.99 on its web site for the first 30 days, after which the price goes up to $79.99.

Unlike past software that allowed Windows programs to run on a Mac, Parallels Desktop does not need to emulate the hardware that's inside a PC. That's because Macs and PCs now use the same Intel-based chips. As a result, the speed of Parallels is far better than past efforts at bringing together the two operating systems, the software start-up said. In fact, Parallels says Windows programs can run nearly as fast through its virtualization as running natively on a Windows PC.