Microsoft is urging users of Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) to upgrade to a newer version of the browser.
IE6 is now 10 years old and still has a surprising amount of users. Microsoft has stated that it would like IE6 to be used by less than one per cent of the world’s population on the web.
The company has created a website to promote the cause. It has been designed to monitor the transition of users across the globe to upgraded versions of the browser. The site even features a detailed chart of user numbers for each country and a banner that you can add to your site encouraging people to upgrade.
Microsoft claims that IE6 does not provide users with a satisfactory browsing experience – newer versions of Internet Explorer offer tabbed browsing, improved speed and better privacy and security settings.
“Currently one in four Internet Explorer users continue to use IE6, a browser which lacks modern web standards and provides an unsatisfactory user experience,” said the company through a statement.
In Britain only 3.5 per cent of people are using IE6 whereas a massive 34.5 per cent of web users in China are using the outdated browser. As it stands only Norway and Finland have reached the Microsoft goal of less than 1 per cent usage.
Microsoft are currently putting the finishing touches on the IE9 launch. However, it will face heavy competition from other browsers. Google Chrome is currently the world’s fastest growing web browser and Mozilla Firefox is also reporting rapid growth in user numbers.
