Netscape Communications Corp. is now shipping its Mission Control Desktop 4.5, a new collection of enterprise tools, with its Communicator Pro management suite.

The software gives users improved control and manageability over the intranet client environment. Mission Control Desktop 4.5 is designed to improve enterprise functionality of Netscape Communicator 4.5 which was released last week.

Mission Control Desktop 4.5 features include:

• Extensive configuration of Netscape Communicator 4.5 for the enterprise. IT managers can set or lock client preferences and prevent end users from accidentally changing crucial settings.

• Easy deployment of Netscape Communicator 4.5. IT professionals can easily create customized client installers for distribution over their intranet.

• Central management of Netscape Communicator 4.5. IT managers can centrally manage their client configurations via a Web server or an LDAP Directory Server.

• Automatic software updates. IT managers can distribute software to end users through the SmartUpdate feature of Netscape Communicator 4.5.

"This release of Netscape Mission Control Desktop together with Netscape Communicator 4.5 enables IT managers to significantly reduce their cost of ownership over their intranet desktop environment," said Bob Lisbonne, senior vice president of Netscape's client products division.

"With Mission Control Desktop, IT professionals can pre-configure over 700 preferences and settings, build custom installs of Communicator, centrally manage client configurations and automatically update desktop applications."

Netscape Communicator 4.5 also features the Smart Browsing feature which allows users to find information quickly without having to type in Web addresses. Once at a site, users can click on "What's Related" links and view a list of similar Web sites.

Netscape Communicator 4.5 is available for download through the Netscape Netcenter portal site.