Firefox gets its Guinness World Record

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Mozilla has officially claimed its Guinness World Record – of course, there wasn’t any competition.

The Firefox-maker has claimed the record for the “largest number of software downloads in 24 hours.” While there was no previous record, Download Day – the 24 hours beginning 17 June – saw just over eight million downloads of Firefox 3.

Gareth Deaves, records manager for Guinness World Records, said: “Mobilising over eight million internet users within 24 hours is an extremely impressive accomplishment and we would like to congratulate the Mozilla community for their hard work and dedication.”

The open source software developer initially reported 8.3 million downloads, but admitted that it needed to wait until Guinness audited the statistics to be sure.

Firefox was looking to make a dent in rival Microsoft’s significant lead in the browser war. Microsoft's Internet Explorer commands over three-quarters of the market, but is not set for its next upgrade until August.

“The enthusiasm and creativity of Firefox fans was instrumental in achieving this record,” said Paul Kim, vice president of marketing at Mozilla. “Our community members came together and not only spread the word, but also took the initiative to help mobilize millions of people to demonstrate their belief that Firefox gives people the best possible online experience.”

It’s not the first stunt the developer has run for publicity. In its blog, Mozilla said: “Ever since Firefox was launched in 2004 we’ve relied on our community to help us spread the word, and thanks to projects including crop circles, newspaper ads, giant stickers, videos, blogs and more we now have over 180 million users in more than 230 countries.”

Anyone who took part in the download can get a personalised certificate here.

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