IE 7 ready for download

Some 18 months after Bill Gates pledged to revamp Internet Explorer, Microsoft is ready with the final version of Internet Explorer 7. The new web browser, which has been in testing for months, is now available for download from Microsoft's website.

On the feature side, Microsoft is playing catch-up in many areas. It has added support for web standards, RSS web feeds and tabbed browsing. The new browser also offers protection against phishing sites - malicious websites designed to trick users into handing over their personal information.

After months of ceding market share to Firefox, Microsoft has gained back a bit, according to the most recent statistics from OneStat. IE now has 85.9 per cent of the market, an increase of 2.8 percentage points since July. Firefox has 11.5 per cent of the market, down 1.4 percentage points compared with July. The Mozilla Foundation is getting closer to the launch of its own revamp, Firefox 2, which has hit the "release candidate" stage.

Microsoft is encouraging even Firefox users to install the IE update, promising them that it won't make IE the default browser - or even ask them if they want to switch. Gary Schare, Microsoft's director of IE product management, said: "There are advantages to having it there, even if you are not a daily user."

Those who have been beta testing IE 7 will begin receiving the final version via automatic updates this week. Microsoft plans to push down IE 7 via automatic update to IE 6 users starting next month, though they will get to decide whether they want to install it.

Microsoft has also offered a tool for businesses that lets them indefinitely block users from getting automatically updated to IE 7. Schare declined to say how many businesses have downloaded the tool.

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com