Last week saw the announcement of Mango, the version of Windows Phone 7 that will be present on the first Nokia smartphones to appear on the platform later this year. Now, thanks to a demo video running a full 23 minutes long, you can get a closer look at what's on offer in full detail.

There's no question that the announcement of Mango – or Windows Phone 7.1 if you prefer – represents a turning of the page for the Microsoft operating system. It's been around for the best part of a year now, and has been making slow and steady progress, both in terms of handset sales and the WP7 app Marketplace, which now offers more than 20,000 apps.

Also read: 10 things Microsoft Mango will bring to Nokia Windows Phone

But Mango takes things to the next level. It's the first major update to Windows Phone 7, and introduces around 500 new features – many of them all but unnoticeable, no doubt, but an impressive figure nonetheless. For Nokia users, however, Mango represents something else besides: the future of its smartphone business.

This will be the version of Windows Phone that will be present on Nokia's first WP smartphones, which are expected to launch towards the end of the year. So you'll no doubt want to check out exactly what's in store. Right? Of course you do, and now you can thanks to a detailed live demo of the newly updated OS. At a total length of 23 minutes, there's plenty to digest in the demo, but given Mango's significance to Nokia's future it's well worth taking the time to watch it all the way through. Hit Play below to see for yourself, then give us your thoughts: are you excited about Mango?

What in particular are you looking forward to (or not looking forward to) in the switch from Symbian^3 to Windows Phone 7? Let us know in the Comments.

Check out the Windows Phone Mango preview video:

Check out the Windows Phone Mango preview video:

Check out the Windows Phone Mango preview (Bing Vision) video:

Via My Nokia Blog