10/25/2006 -- CompTIA last week released the beta exam for its new, vendor-neutral CompTIA Convergence+ certification as part of the company's Convergent Technologies Certification Initiative.

According to CompTIA's Web site, the Convergence+ beta exam is designed to measure participants' abilities to analyze and manage "data, voice and multimedia convergence applications."

The test will cover the areas of telephony, network engineering, applications, hardware and architecture, management and security. For more information on the Convergence+ beta exam's objectives, go here.

Though not required, CompTIA encourages participants to obtain a CompTIA Network+ certification and 18 to 24 months of convergence-related experience before taking the Convergence+ beta exam.

CompTIA has not announced when the final version of the Convergence+ exam will launch. However, the company says those who pass the beta will earn a CompTIA Convergence+ certification and will not have to retake the exam after it launches.

The two-hour, 110-question beta exam is now available at Pearson VUE and Thomson Prometric testing centers for $75. Go here to register. -Gladys Rama