Microsoft's latest version of Internet Explorer (IE) is a hit but Google's Chrome has been steadily gaining ground on the Web browsing software, according to industry figures released Tuesday. Chrome's share of the browser market rose from 1.62 percent in March of last year to 5.22 percent last month, according to Net Application trend data. During the same period, Internet Explorer's piece of the Web browser market dropped from 68.46 percent to 62.12 percent, Net Application reported. The percentage of people using Safari browser software tailored for Apple's Macintosh computers went from 3.63 percent in March of last year to 4.53 percent in January. “I think what Microsoft is seeing is that when people upgrade from IE 6 they don't necessarily go to IE 8,” said Net Application spokesman Vince Vizzaccaro. “They have been very vocal with trying to get people to upgrade, and people may be looking around to see what other browsers are available.” No matter which Web browser people use, upgrading to the most current version promises to increase protection against hackers. Net Application data from January showed that while a fifth of the world's machines still used IE 6 to explore the Internet, IE 8 took the top spot with 25.56 percent of the overall market. IE 7 and 8 browsers have together tallied more than 350 million blocks of malicious software and links to 125 million “phishing” websites devised to trick people into disclosing valuable information such as passwords. PC battle looms Google has taken the unusual step of using real-world advertising to promote its Chrome web browser in Europe ahead of a regulatory change that will make it easier for consumers to switch Web browsers. By pushing its Chrome browser, Google is trying to change consumer perceptions, and mount a real challenge to Microsoft's dominance of the desktop computer. In Paris, one billboard lists what a person does with Chrome as he impulsively decides to book a trip to the soccer World Cup: watching videos on YouTube, chatting with friends, looking for plane tickets to Johannesburg, then tweeting his decision. “Twenty-one tabbed windows open, zero bugs, one web browser,” the ad reads. But despite Chrome's superior performance in many respects, such as speed of loading pages, it has failed to gain meaningful market share since coming out just over a year ago. Under the measure to take effect in mid-March, European users of Microsoft Windows, which runs nine out of ten of the world's PCs, will be given an explicit choice of 12 browsers. Increasing market share will be crucial if Google is to succeed in creating a new Web-based operating system built on Chrome that could one day challenge Microsoft's Windows.
