Regarding the Milner-Barry gambit, at master level all the attention seems to be focused at the moment on 1.e4 c5 2.c3 e6 3.d4 d5 4.e5 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bd7 6.Bd3 cxd4 7.cxd4 Qb6 8.0-0 Nxd4 9.Nbd2 !? which has been setting new problems. Neil McDonald has already spotted this and covered it here at Chess Publishing some time ago, but there have been many new games since then, so hopefully he will give us an update soon.

I must answer your questions by remembering the short time, I had the M-B on my repertoire. In fact I only had the chance to play it once. My opponent still was sleepy and played ...Qxd4 before ...Bd7. All the other times I saw some deviation or another. According to theory I should have emerged with an edge in all occasions. Fine and true, but I really did not find the resulting positions very inspiring, so I went back to 3.Nc3.
Stuff like 3...c5, 4...Nc6, 5...Nge7 and 6...Nf5 - not my cup of tea.

Well, 7.0-0 allows cxd4 8.cxd4 Nb4!? 9.Be2 Bb5.
Therefor after 6...cxd4 7.cxd4 Bd7 White must play the more precise 8.Nc3 Nxd4 9.Nxd4 Qxd4 10.0-0.

There is a Milner Barry today at Sigeman. Hector-Carlsson. Carlsson declined it.

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Qb6 6.Bd3 Bd7 7. dxc5 Qc7 8.Qe2 Bxc5 9.Bf4 Nge7 10.b4 Bb6 11.h4 f6

16 Bf2 is much better than Bd2. After 15 b4 Be7, 16 b5.

MNb wrote on 04/22/07 at 21:07:46:

10. Nc3 is certainly the best move.  Personally I think that Black then is wise, at least OTB, to play 10...a6.  White's pawn on e5 does somewhat attone for his lost pawn, but not enough.  It's amazing how many gambit psychotics are happy to emerge from the opening with a game that is not quite losing but somewhat better for Black, just so they can play their pet pawn sacrifice.  I mean, you're White, for crying out loud! 

If you want to gambit your d-pawn and play for a win based on precisely this sort of space advantage, it would be much better to play 1. e4 e6  2. d4 d5  3. e5 c5  4. Nf3 Nc6  5. Bd3 and just let the d-pawn go.  This way of playing against the French is underrated, in my opinion, and Black has no significant alternative to accepting your d-pawn.

10...Qxe5 is said to win, I believe, but I might be reluctant to play it in a practical setting.   

I remember when I was playing 2nd Board for William and Mary and my roommate was playing 1st Board, the day before an important match I briefed him on the White side of the Milner-Barry.  Georgetown's 1st Board fatefully played the French, continued with 10...Ne7  11. Nb5 Qxe5 and got crushed in less than 20 moves.  After the game our coach said that when he saw the position after 11...Qxe5, he thought our 1st Board was losing pitifully.

Mnb, I think white has to play 14 a3 before Bd4; 17...Nb4 is an annoying move which seems to refute 14 Bd4. 14 a3 also supports b4-b5 to break open white's queenside. I hoped to test my ideas in games but so far have not had the opportunity. I still think white has long-term positional compensation in space, mobility and developement.