In a running saga which has lasted since before Windows XP’s release back in 2001, Microsoft have finally shipped an update for their Windows platform which will allow users to choose the web browser they want to run.

Windows 7 in Europe was due to have the update built in when it was released back in October 2009, but last-minute wranglings between the EU and Microsoft saw the deadline off for another short period. Now users will get the choice which was proposed then – a pop-up box asking whether the user wishes to keep on using Internet Explorer 8 or whether they want to switch to Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera or Apple Safari.

This is the end of part of Microsoft’s problems with antitrust and competition regulators who wanted to see MS’s practice of making Internet Explorer tightly entwined with their operating systems end. Microsoft’s Windows platform has enjoyed a very dominant market position over the last few years, meaning most web users didn’t even know there was a choice of web browser in the first place.

Whether this will help make the web a safer place is still unknown, however.

Internet Explorer 6 is a web browser which first appeared in 2001. Since then, we’ve seen browsers like Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Google Chrome establish themselves as serious choices alongside older alternatives like Opera. We’ve even seen IE7 and IE8 arrive on the scene.

All of these browsers leave IE6 in the dust in terms of security, reliability, compatibility and new features. Web developers have been tearing their hair out for years over the problems that IE6 and IE7 present when designing websites, while security firms have warned against using the outdated technology. Recent events have seen Google blame a vulnerability in IE6 for the China e-mail hacking fiasco and both the German and French governments recommend that citizens do not use Internet Explorer until the issues are fixed.

I firmly believe IE6 should be discontinued by Microsoft, along with IE7, leaving IE8 as their only supported browser on the market. What this would do would be to focus all their energies on their latest and greatest, enable developers the world over to cater to more modern browsers and help safeguard users’ private data.

I wouldn’t hold out much hope though. After all, Microsoft say IE6 will be supported until 2014, when it will be 13 years old. Brilliant.