AOL to launch new Netscape browser – but who will use it?

America Online bought Netscape in 1998 shortly after signing a deal with Microsoft to use Internet Explorer in the software it provides to its ISP customers. According to Reuters, the new version targets the mainstream internet user.

However, it is not clear yet whether the company plans to challenge Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer by replacing it with the Netscape browser in the new version of the AOL software to be launched later this year.

Web research company WebSideStory yesterday reported that the percentage of web surfers using Netscape worldwide is now at record lows. The survey was produced by StatMarket, WebSideStory’s software optimisation service that collects data from millions of internet surfers per day.

It found that Internet Explorer has this year a global usage share of just under 96%, up from about 87% a year ago. Other browsers, such as Opera, make up the remaining 0.64% in StatMarket's findings.

Geoff Johnston, vice president of product marketing for StatMarket, said:

"The browser war is in fact a massacre. The newest versions of Netscape have failed to win over users so far. There are pockets of resistance in certain countries, but unless AOL makes a move soon, Netscape may find itself battling Opera for the last 1 to 2 percent of the market."

The report claims that Netscape is still stronger than the global average in the US, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.