Reuters | Microsoft Corp could regain the edge over rivals
Google Inc and Mozilla Firefox with its new Web browser due to be
launched next year, the head of Microsoft Internet Explorer said.

Ryan Gavin said in an interview Microsoft was generating a high level
of interest in Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) from the external software
developers who are key to its success, thanks to new capabilities and a
new, more open approach towards such third parties.

Microsoft, which was overtaken on Wednesday by Apple Inc. as the world’s most valuable technology company, has seen Internet Explorer’s market share dwindle to 60 percent from about 95 percent in the early 2000s.

U.S. and European regulators have helped rival browsers like Google Chrome to flourish by loosening the ties between Internet Explorer and Microsoft’s Windows operating system that runs 90 percent of the world’s personal computers.

Google is developing a rival operating system based on its Chrome browser, which is intended to be leaner and more Web-friendly than Windows, as well as being free.

Microsoft is betting IE9 will provide a far superior visual experience to currently available browsers by harnessing the power of the computer’s graphics processor via Windows to accelerate the software process.

With HTML5, a new Web standard gaining in popularity, it also hopes to be able to deliver powerful visuals via a single mark-up language readable by all browsers, simplifying the life of developers and improving the user experience.

HTML5 makes possible rich applications like video on the Web that are currently enabled by Adobe’s Flash and Microsoft’s own, far less widely used Silverlight technology.