Battle of the browsers: Chrome beats Internet Explorer, just about

New Delhi: After a long reign at the top of the Web browsers, Microsoft's Internet Explorer is finally making way for a new leader, Google Chrome.

Chrome which was launched in 2008, has in a span of a few years posed a serious threat to the dominance of Internet Explorer which Mozilla's open source Firefox, inspite of its loyal following, couldn't.

According to the latest statistics released by Web analytics firm StatCounter Google Chrome has finally managed to brush ahead of Internet Explorer in terms of usage.

Chrome accounted for 32.76 per cent of browser usage, while Internet Explorer was marginally behind with 31.94 per cent.

According to StatCounter, in the week ending May 20, Chrome accounted for 32.76 per cent of the browser usage, while Internet Explorer was marginally behind with 31.94 per cent. Data for 21 May shows the gap closing down with Chrome losing its weekly gain to slide down to 31.88 per cent while IE dipped to 31.47 per cent.

Previously, Chrome had topped IE on StatCounter's charts, but that reign lasted only for a day. The rapid decline of IE usage and the surge of Google Chrome indicates that the latest figures aren't going to be just a flash in the pan.

Meanwhile, Mozilla Firefox which has also gone into an overdrive with rapid updates, much like Google Chrome, and is recovering some lost ground and the figures suggest that this could ver well be at the cost of Internet Explorer.

To maintain its dominance on the Web, Google has invested heavily in its Chrome Web browser and has also run mainstream advertising campaigns that isn't usually associated with the giant from Mountain View. This emphasis on controlling the software to access the Internet has paid of well for Google.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Browser Market Share