Microsoft’s partner manufacturers on Tuesday received the latest version of the Redmond-based software giant’s mobile phone software, code-named Mango, to test it on their upcoming handsets.

It was the final step in the process to make the software available on new handsets.

Speaking on the topic, Terry Myerson from Microsoft said, “This marks the point in the development process where we hand code to our handset and mobile-operator partners to optimize Mango for their specific phone and network configurations.”

Mango, the first major update to hit Windows Phone 7 platform, will bring more than 500 new features and faster browsing with Internet Explorer 9.

Mango was unveiled in May with a promise that the software would be available by year's end for free to partner manufacturers, including HTC, Samsung, LG, Acer and ZTE. HTC’s has reportedly started working on its new high-end smartphone, called the Omega, which will run Windows Phone 7 Mango.

Microsoft also announced that it was working on a Mango phone in its labs with new partner Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone maker which is ditching its own software Symbian in favor of Windows Phone 7.