  We describe the properties of birefringent left-handed metamaterials and
introduce the concept of a birefringent perfect lens. We demonstrate that, in a
sharp contrast to the conventional left-handed perfect lens at
$\epsilon=\mu=-1$, where $\epsilon$ is the dielectric constant and $\mu$ is the
magnetic permeability, the birefringent left-handed lens can focus either TE or
TM polarized waves or both of them, allowing a spatial separation of the TE and
TM images. We discuss several applications of the birefringent left-handed
lenses such as the beam splitting and near-field diagnostics at the
sub-wavelength scale.
