Microsoft celebrates after Internet Explorer 6 declines in US

Microsoft is celebrating new data showing that the use of Internet Explorer 6 in the US has dropped below one per cent, but the UK still has some way to go before it ditches the browser.

The Redmond giant has been keen to get rid of the browser for a while and launched the IE6 Countdown site last March to help accelerate the process.

The site encourages IE users to drop version 6 of the browser, launched in 2001, and upgrade to version 9, the latest stable release of the browser.

"We hope this means more developers and IT Pros can consider IE6 a low-priority at this point and spending their time having to support such an outdated browser," said Microsoft director of Internet Explorer marketing, Roger Capriotti, in the firm's Windows blog.

"IE6 has been the punch line of browser jokes for a while, and we've been as eager as anyone to see it go away."

According to Net Applications data, just over seven per cent of the world is still using IE6.

Usage is highest in China, followed by South Korea, Japan, Vietnam and India.

Meanwhile, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and now the US, have all dropped below one per cent in their IE6 usage.

However, UK usage of the outdated browser is currently 1.4 per cent.

Not all internet users are happy about the demise of IE6. A rival site to Microsoft's Countdown site exists called Save IE6.com, which has run a petition since 2009 campaigning for the continued support of the browser.

Microsoft is not the only browser manufacturer looking to upgrade its customers to more recent versions of its products, however.

Mozilla has been trying since December to move its users off Firefox 3.6 and its strategy appears to be working, with Net Applications data showing the browser's market share has dropped to around one per cent during the period.

The firm is currently looking to dump the browser in April.