Explorer 9 on the way

Microsoft is releasing a new version of its Internet Explorer web browser, aiming to stem market share lost to Firefox, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari.

Microsoft will mark the public release of a test version of Internet Explorer 9 at an event in San Francisco.

With Chrome usage up sevenfold, Microsoft needs to ensure that users keep their focus on the Windows operating system, rather than run programs through Google's browser, says Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, a research firm in Kirkland, Washington.

- BLOOMBERG