Internet Explorer 8 set for automatic rollout

Microsoft has high hopes for IE8

Microsoft will begin to push out the latest version of its Internet Explorer browser to users with older editions from next week.

Although the firm has already delivered IE8 via Auto Update to customers who had previously downloaded the beta version, Microsoft will now look to establish the new browser among the wider customer community.

"Starting on or about the third week of April, users still running IE6 or IE7 on Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, or Server 2008 will get a notification through Automatic Update about IE8," said a posting on the IE8 blog.

"This rollout will start with a narrow audience and expand over time to the entire user base. On Windows XP and Server 2003, the update will be High-Priority. On Windows Vista and Server 2008 it will be Important."

Users will still have to opt in to install the software. A welcome screen will offer the choices 'ask later', 'install now' or 'don't install'.

Users who decline the automatic update can still download it from the IE8 web site, or from Windows Update as an optional update, said Microsoft.

The firm is hoping that the new version of the browser will help it fend off the increasingly potent challenge of Mozilla's Firefox. At the time of writing, Internet Explorer had a market share of 66.82 per cent, with Firefox on 22.05 per cent.