By Kevin McLaughlin, ChannelWeb

3:37 PM EDT Mon. Mar. 15, 2010

On Monday at the MIX10 conference in Las Vegas, Microsoft gave developers an in-depth look at the tools they'll be using to build applications for Windows Phone 7 devices and the marketplace where they'll sell their creations.

As expected, Silverlight is the platform for native Windows Phone 7 application development, XNA Framework is the gaming platform, and Expression Blend and Visual Studio 2010 Express are the design and development tools. This isn't a version of Silverlight tailored for mobile devices, but the full blown Silverlight programming model, which means developers can quickly start cranking out Windows Phone 7 apps.

"Using Silverlight, you can deliver awesome applications for Windows Phone 7," Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president of Microsoft's .NET Developer Platform, told attendees. "This is not 'Silverlight Lite' or 'Silverlight Limited' -- this is regular Silverlight on a phone."

Microsoft is now offering the Windows Phone 7 development toolkit as a free download, a package that includes Silverlight, Expression Blend for Windows Phone and a preview of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express.

Windows Phone 7 devices aren't slated to arrive until later this year, but Microsoft wants developers to get started on building apps right away. Through Microsoft's Visual Studio-based emulator, developers can work with a full, virtualized version of Windows Phone 7 that includes multi-touch support, and judging from the reaction of the audience, this will be well received.