IE8 becomes most used web browser

New figures have revealed that Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is now the most used web browser globally.

Statistics from Net Applications show that IE8 accounted for 22.31 per cent of the market in January, compared with IE6 at 20.07 per cent and Firefox 3.5 with 17.01 per cent.

According to Jack Schofield of the Guardian, IE8's growth can be accounted for IE6 being affected by fewer people using Windows XP.

"IE6 has maintained its user base because it shipped with what has been by far the world's most popular operating system, Windows XP," he explains.

"However, XP is now in decline."

The figures - which may lay out a case for ensuring website design projects work with all of the most popular browsers - also show that IE7, Firefox 3.0, Google Chrome and Apple Safari were among the top browsers used last month.

Mozilla is currently in the process of rolling out a version of its open source Firefox browser for certain mobile phones.

This news story was brought to you by Bluhalo - a leading UK digital agency.