A test version of a new Firefox browser is now available. New features include improved pop-up advertisement blocking and faster back and forward Web navigation features, and added support for Mac OS X.
On its Web site, Firefox browser makers warn the browser is only a test version and is prone to a long list of bugs.
The new release comes at a time when the Firefox browser is gaining more share of the browser market, and thereby proving its mettle against Microsoft Corp. and other deep-pocketed competitors and their proprietary Internet browsers.
OneStat.com, a Web traffic analyst, reported Tuesday that Microsofts Internet Explorer browser is still the most popular of all, with a commanding 85 percent share of global Internet usage.
But that percentage is down slightly, about 1 percent, from April. Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefoxs share is 11.51 percent, up about 3 percent from April, OneStat reports.
“The global usage share of Mozillas browsers is still growing, and it seems that Netscape users and some Internet Explorer users are switching to the Firefox version,” the firm reported Wednesday.