Google Popularity Ousts Microsoft From Top Spot

Internet competition heated up in December but this time between web browsers as Firefox knocked Internet Explorer off the top spot for the first time in a major market.

Internet Explorer is facing increasing competition from newer web browsers

Mozilla's open-source application became the most used internet browser in Europe with 38.1% market share, according to the web analytics firm StatCounter.
The Microsoft browser's popularity fell to 37.5% from nearly 45% a year ago.
However the change in consumer attitudes was more a reflection on Google Chrome's success than the Mozilla open-source application.
Whereas Firefox use has remained steady, over the past year Chrome has nearly tripled its share of the European market to 14.6%.
StatCounter chief Aodhan Cullen said: "We are probably seeing the impact of the agreement between European Commission competition authorities and Microsoft, to offer EU users a choice and menu of browsers from March last year."
Following an EU antitrust probe, Microsoft began offering European customers a choice of browsers on the 100 million PCs that use Windows software.