VMware View 5.0 delivers these features because they were specifically requested by users, explained Paul Maritz, CEO of VMware, who introduced the update at the company's VMworld conference, being held this week in Las Vegas.

Similar features were also just introduced in a VDI product update offered by one of VMware's main competitors. Last week, Citrix Systems VDI package, which also included WAN optimization and personalization capabilities.

Typically, VDI can be cumbersome over a WAN connection, and vendors have emphasized its use on shorter-haul LANs (local area networks) instead. With this release VMware was able to reduce the amount of bandwidth needed for streaming a VDI by as much as 75 percent, making VDI over WAN possible, according to the company. This improved performance came about as a result of the way the company re-engineered the compression algorithms in PCoIP (PC-over-IP), the protocol it uses for delivering virtual desktops to end-users. View also augmented user-side caching so it can execute tasks such as running Flash animations locally.

User personalization is another new feature in View 5.0. Administrators can embed departmental applications and configure custom settings for the virtual desktops, without the desktops taking up more space in storage. VMware , called Persona Management, when it purchased RTO Software in 2010.

VMware View 5.0 is also the first version to offer support for viewing three-dimensional visualization, paving the way for running high-end modeling applications, as well as for rendering the Windows 7 Aero interface.