1/17/2007 -- The first Microsoft Certification exam for Windows Vista, numbered 70-620, is now available at Pearson Vue and Prometric testing centers worldwide. Microsoft made the exam available earlier this month..

Exam 70-620 TS: Configuring Windows Vista is aimed at IT tech support personnel who work as tier 1 or 2 phone support and at IT support working in the retail environment. Those who pass the exam earn the MCTS: Windows Vista title.

Also new are two exams for SharePoint: Exam 70-630 TS: Office SharePoint Server 2007, Configuring, and 70-631 TS: SharePoint Services 3.0.

Exam 70-630 targets those who are familiar with configuring Office SharePoint Server and who have a fairly broad skillset that includes experience with IIS and ISA, SQL Server and .NET 2.0. Those who pass this exam get the MCTS: Office SharePoint Server, Configuring certification. There's speculation that the title will also apply to a professional title, but Microsoft.

Exam 70-631 has similar criteria and a title befitting the name: MCTS: SharePoint Services 3.0, Configuring.

All exams are available at Pearson Vue and Prometric testing centers worldwide. In the U.S., exam prices are $125.

Meanwhile, another SharePoint exam has already headed into beta: 70-541 TS: Windows SharePoint Services 3.0-Application Development (numbered 71-541 while in beta). The beta continues until Feb. 9.

Exam 70-541 targets corporate developers who specialize in Windows SharePoint Services development and have had at least two to three years working knowledge of ASP.NET and working with Web development technologies. Those who take the exam are expected to know how to program using either Visual Basic 2005 or Visual C# 2005. According to the objective guide, Microsoft expects to release this exam in "mid-winter 2007." -Michael Domingo, courtesy of MCPMag.com