A Microsoft Research spokesperson confirmed that "Gazelle" (research paper), the project name for its browser experiment, conducted with some help from the U of W, is not in any way intended to be a prototype for a next-generation Microsoft browser. However, in a surprising turn of events, from the other side of the corporate campus, spokespersons for Microsoft's consumer products officially declined comment on whether Internet Explorer 8 would not be the company's last version of Internet Explorer. This despite every indication we've ever received privately that Microsoft engineers not related to its Research division are working on future editions of the Web browser, as part of a broad company roadmap, reports BetaNews.