IE 6 nearly dead and buried

Microsoft is celebrating as use of Internet Explorer 6 (IE6) has dropped below one per cent in the US.

According to The Inquirer, it has been a while coming, and Microsoft has been getting ready for the news that the US has joined the ranks of the less than one per cent.

"Time to pop open the champagne because, based on the latest data from Net Applications, IE6 usage in the US has now officially dropped below 1 per cent!," said Roger Capriotti, director of Internet Explorer marketing.

"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."

Microsoft has been pushing users away from its obsolete web browser since last year and launched its IE6 countdown web site in Spring 2011. Countries that are not touching IE6 with a barge pole include Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway.

Other countries are in what Microsoft calls a Champions Circle and have less than one per cent IE6 usage. These are the Czech Republic, Mexico, Ukraine, Portugal and the Philippines.