The Hotfix have recently just posted an article revealing some exciting information regarding the next version of Windows Media Player. 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

Features in WMP 11 for Vista (Early 07):
- Everything that is in the WMP 11 for XP
- Playing content (including DRM) on your PC from another PC or device
- Viewing content from the Vista Media library on other PCs or digital devices, such as Tivo
- Playback of High Value video content
- Shell integration with Windows Media Player
- Content Indexer change notification to sync My Music and WMP library
- DVD Fullscreen playback enhancements
- DRM Transcode
- High quality video streaming over home networks
- Media foundation for playback