UPDATE:  To the surprise of most Web pundits, this did not occur.  The community was correct.  -- The Industry Standard 

Many believe the next step in the Web's evolution will include Silverlight in some form or fashion. Some claim Silverlight to be a quantam leap ahead of Flash and Flex, and that it will become the platorm of choice as the battle over RIA (Rich Internet Applications) heats up.

Microsoft's Mix 08 Conference in Las Vegas in early March seems like the obvious place to introduce the new Silverlight 2 beta.

This is a prediction that Microsoft will be announcing the release of an offline version of Silverlight at this week's Mix 08 Conference to compete more directly with Adobe Air.