Mozilla rewards top Firefox plug-ins

Mozilla's Extend Firefox 2 competition judged the best third-party extensions

Mozilla has announced the winners of the top three plug-ins for its Firefox browser.

The Extend Firefox 2 competition judged the best third-party extensions for the open source browser.

First prize went to UK-based developer Tony Farndon, who created the Minimap Sidebar Extension. The plug-in allows users to view Google, Yahoo and Live Local maps in a sidebar independent of the main browser window.

Second prize was won by Italian developer Massimiliano Mirra for SamePlace. The plug-in allows Firefox to serve as a an instant messaging client for six different services, including AIM, Yahoo Messenger and ICQ.

Third prize went to US developer Jay Meattle for Shareaholic. The plug-in allows users to submit web pages to Digg, Del.icio.us, MySpace and Facebook, along with emails, directly from the Firefox browser window.

Each winner will be given a special Ultimate Firefox Developer kit which includes a new Macbook Pro with VMware Fusion software and a free trip to a Mozilla Developer Day anywhere in the world.

The company also named 12 runners-up who will be given a special Firefox messenger bag and merchandise, along with a $200 gift certificate for O'Reilly books.