Internet Explorer 9 is the new edition of Microsoft's hugely popular web browser. Building on the success of previous editions of IE with new features and a new look, Microsoft has high hopes for Internet Explorer 9.

The first thing you'll notice about Internet Explorer 9 is an overhauled interface. Making the most of the transparent graphical style available in Windows 7 and newer editions of Windows Vista, IE 9 looks sleek, smart and simpler than ever before. Like in Google Chrome, the Address bar and Search box have been merged to create a simpler, more seamless user experience.

Among the new features included in Internet Explorer 9 are better integration with the Windows operating system and a seriously beefed-up security system. IE 9 also lets you 'pin' websites to the Superbar and allows you to bookmark your favorite websites as 'applications' in your OS. As for safety, the new Tracking protection and ActiveX filtering features let you block certain sites from tracking your movements online and switch off ActiveX elements on a per-site basis, respectively. The new Performance Advisor add-on identifies add-ons that are slowing Internet Explorer down (a feature badly needed in Mozilla Firefox).

Internet Explorer 9 also offers improved speed and performance, as well as better compliance with web standards and new technologies. IE 9 features decent support for HTML 5 (the new generation of media-rich websites use this language), and now finishes the Acid 3 test with a near-perfect 95/100. New features like hang recovery and InPrivate Filtering provide Internet Explorer a stabler and more secure web experience than most other browsers.

In all, the latest version of Windows Internet Explorer 9 is faster and prettier than its predecessors - and really throws down the gauntlet to its competitors. Watch out: the browser wars just got exciting again.