Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new Web site designed to help people with no programming experience learn to build Windows applications or Web sites using Visual Studio 2005.

The new Beginning Developer Learning Center offers such developers 45 lessons and 31 short "how-to" videos on programming using Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition products, Microsoft said.

Each lesson takes about 20 to 40 minutes, according to Microsoft, and is provided in multiple content types, including video/audio, documentation and hands-on labs. The lessons are divided into two tracks -- Windows or Web development -- with multiple tiers of lessons.