VMware took as step out of the mainstream this month when it demonstrated a Macintosh version of its product at MacWorld.

The company introduced a public beta of a Macintosh desktop product that allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 guest operating systems. Those guest operating systems would be NetWare, Linux, Windows and Solaris, running under virtual machines hosted by Mac OS X.

The product, codenamed VMware Fusion on the Mac, is capable of running 64-bit, as well as 32-bit PC applications, and supports iSight cameras, USB 2.0 and any Bluetooth-enabled devices.

With the Macintosh products, users can assign multiple CPUs per virtual machine. They can also drag and drop files and folders between Mac OS X and any virtual machine.

The product is compatible with VMware Workstation, VMware Server and VMware Infrastructure 3.

While the product was introduced last August the public beta just became available. Interested users can download it from VMware’s site.

VMware for Macintoshes is not alone in virtualizing desktop computers. Parallels offers Parallels Desktop for Mac for x86-based iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Pro and Mac Pro Towers. Parallels Desktop for Mac is $79.99.

The VMware product is expected to be available this summer; pricing has not yet been set.

VMware is also beta testing a product called Converter, which lets users reduce the time they spend migrating from physical to virtual environments. VMware Converter has a management console that lets users schedule, manage and monitor conversions. Converter works in VirtualCenter 2.0 or ESX Server 3.0 virtual environments. Support is available for Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, Windows NT 4 (Service Pack 4 +) and 64-bit Windows. Again, interested readers can download the Converter beta from VMware’s site.

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