Microsoft has bolstered its Windows Phone 7 developer arsenal today with the release of new development tools for Visual Basic.

The new tools, entitled “Visual Basic for Windows Phone Developer Tools” now allow any Visual Basic developers to compile Silverlight applications in Visual Studio. Microsoft has also issued sample code for developer to reference.

“We’re extremely excited to officially add support for Visual Basic to Windows Phone, and we can’t wait to see all of the new apps and games you’ll create with it,” said Larry Liberman, Product Manager, Windows Phone Developer Experience.

Microsoft also notes the following limitations with the initial release:

• This initial release of the Visual Basic add-on for the Windows Phone Developer Tools requires Visual Studio 2010 Professional or higher; Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone is not supported. If you do not have VS 2010 Pro or higher, you can download a trial version here.

• This release is only for Silverlight projects only; the Visual Basic add on for the Windows Phone Developer Tools does not support projects built on the XNA Framework.

The tools are available in the following languages:

• English: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=206790&clcid=0×409
• French: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=206790&clcid=0x40c
• German: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=206790&clcid=0×407
• Italian: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=206790&clcid=0×410
• Spanish: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=206790&clcid=0x40a