This document provides an overview of new features and changes in Maven 3.0, including improved compatibility, speed, efficiency and extensibility compared to previous versions. It discusses updates to the POM format like additional validations and the consolidation of profiles. New capabilities in Maven 3.0 include parallel builds, artifact resolution caching, and changes to plugin behavior. The document also introduces mvnshell and polyglot Maven, which expand the Maven command-line and allow projects to use alternative DSLs.