On Thursday, Parallels released version 7.0.15050 of its Parallels Desktop virtualization software. The new update, a 304 megabyte download, adds the following fixes and changes:

- Download and install Windows 8 Developer Preview right from the Parallels Wizard.

- Install Mac OS X 10.7 Lion using Install Mac OS X Lion.app.

- Support for Ubuntu 11.10.

- Improved full screen experience with a new option allowing to scale the virtual machine screen to fit the visible screen area while keeping the resolution.

- Improved support for non-English keyboard layouts.

- Resolves an issue with the Apple USB Ethernet Adapter disconnecting from Mac OS.

- Improved migration of the recent Linux versions from a PC to a virtual machine on your Mac.

- Many other fixes and improvements.

Parallels Desktop 7 retails for US$79.99 and requires a 64-bit Intel-based processor, Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later, 2GB of RAM (4GB recommended to run Windows 7), at least 700 MB of space available on the boot volume for Parallels Desktop installation and 15 GB of available disk space for Windows.

If you’ve tried the new version and have any feedback to offer, let us know in the comments.