The Joomla Project is pleased to announce the availability of Joomla 2.5 RC 1 for download. Version 2.5 is the second release made within the new six-month release cycle that started with the delivery of Joomla 1.6 in January 2011.

What is this release for?

There are several goals for this release:

1. To allow advance testing of sites and custom extensions so that site administrators and developers can report any problems before the final release.
2. To raise awareness that the end of the current development cycle is fast approaching.
3. To allow testing of the upgrade from version 1.7 to 2.5.0.

Click here to download.

What is this release NOT for?

This RC1 version of Joomla 2.5 is not suitable for production sites. It should be used for testing only.

Read more: http://www.joomla.org/announcements/release-news/5401-joomla-250-rc1-released.html