Firefox 2.0 moved closer to its final release yesterday when Mozilla unveiled Release Candidate 1 of its popular open source web browser.

The forthcoming version includes built-in phishing protection, which Mozilla claims will check URLs against a list of suspected phishing sites and warn the user accordingly.

Also new to Firefox 2.0 is a 'session restore' feature will re-launch all of the browser's windows, tabs and active downloads in the event of a crash or shutdown.
As Release Candidate 1 is not a final version, Mozilla warned that features and plug-ins may not function properly. Users should also be aware that the installation will overwrite any previous version of Firefox.

Launched in 2004, Firefox was estimated last June to comprise 15 per cent of the browser market in North America and 20 per cent in Europe.