Firefox 3 overtakes IE7 in Europe

Mozilla's Firefox 3 share of the browser market has overtaken Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 in Europe for the first time in years, according to StatCounter.

Mozilla's Firefox 3 had 35.05 per cent of the European web browser market last week, followed by Internet Explorer 7 with 34.54 per cent.

"The move is partly explained by a small switch from Internet Explorer 7 usage to Internet Explorer 8, but also by growing market share overall by Firefox 3," Aodhan Cullen, the chief executive of StatCounter, said in a statement. IE8 launched earlier this month.

"The data shows that Firefox is closing the gap and is now just 10 per cent behind all Internet Explorer versions in Europe," Cullen said.

In February, Internet Explorer 7 had a global market share of 41 per cent, followed by Firefox 3 with 24 per cent, according to StatCounter.

Click here to read our review of Internet Explore 8, and here to see which of the four major browsers is best.

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