Firefox 3.0 becomes the most popular web browser in Europe

31 Mar 2009

For the first time, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 became the most popular web browser in Europe, overtaking Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 7.0, according to web analytics firm StatCounter.

According to StatCounter, Firefox 3.0 took 35.05pc of the European web browser market, followed by 34.54pc for IE 7.0.

“The move is partly explained by a small switch from IE 7.0 usage to IE 8.0, but also by growing market share overall by Firefox 3.0,” explained Aodhan Cullen, CEO and founder StatCounter.

The data shows that Firefox is closing the gap, and is now just 10pc behind all IE versions in Europe.”

The StatCounter analysis is based on four billion pageloads per month. StatCounter is one of the largest website traffic monitoring companies in the world, with over two million members globally. Over 40pc are located in the US with 25pc in Europe.

By John Kennedy

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com