Microsoft has announced the availability of Windows 8 Consumer Preview aka the beta version of Windows 8.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is available worldwide for download in English, French, German, Japanese and simplified Chinese languages. More information about Windows 8 and how to download the Consumer Preview is available at http://preview.windows.com. The ISO files can be downloaded directly from here.

The system requirements/recommendations for the Consumer Preview include:

• 1 GHz or faster processor.
• 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit).
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit).
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.
• Metro style applications require a minimum of 1024×768 screen resolution, and 1366×768 for the snap feature.

Full details can be found at Building Windows 8 Blog

Microsoft has also released a Product Guide for Windows 8 Consumer preview, which you can download from here [PDF].