Why Windows 7 Windows XP Mode is needed? Can't I just run the Virtual PC with XP image on it?

"There are three advantages in XP mode here:

Those Windows are licensed - there is no need for another license.
Everything comes preconfigured so you don't need to spend time before you can do something useful with it.
It integrates itself better with the host system, by providing start menu shortcuts directly for applications installed in the VM. (Johannes Rössel)"

"Windows XP mode featured in Windows 7 is based on Virtual PC. And when I say based on I mean they are kind of the same. The advantage of Windows XP mode is that it offers a higher level of integration that is not present using Virtual PC. Wikipedia says:

Windows XP Mode is a virtual machine package for Windows Virtual PC containing a pre-installed, licensed copy of Windows XP SP3 as its guest OS. Pre-installed integration components allow applications running within the virtualized environment to appear as if running directly on the host, sharing the native desktop and Start Menu of Windows 7 as well as participating in file type associations. XP Mode applications run in a Terminal Services session in the virtualized Windows XP, and are accessed via Remote Desktop Protocol by a client running on the Windows 7 host

So, essentially, Windows XP mode is a pretty RDP client that connects to Windows XP running in the Virtual PC session. This begs the question… could XP Mode be 'hacked' to allow it to connect to a remote server?"