CYBERSPACE — The fox is not on the run, but its competitors certainly seem to be. The fox in question, of course, is Mozilla’s Firefox, which shook up the web browser status quo when it appeared on the scene in 2004. Suddenly, a browser could do so much more than it had during the Microsoft/Netscape wars.The trend toward increased functionality only continues, as browsers become increasingly integral to business transactions and the running of Internet based programs.

A beta version of Firefox 2 is anticipated this summer, with a complete version available by September. Although the new release sports anti-phishing features, an intuitive search box, and anti-crash web page restoration tools, developers are already making plans for a 2007 release of Firefox 3, which would allow users to run online applications even when offline.

Meanwhile, Microsoft, which has nervously watched as market drifted toward Firefox, is not sitting still. Although Dean Hachamovitch, the company’s general manager for Internet Explorer, insists that “IE6 was easily the bet browser available in 2001,” even he must acknowledge that time has passed and internet usage has changed. “The challenge,” he admits, “is people use the web a lot differently now.”

The new version of IE will include a number of elements common to current versions of Firefox, as well as those in the upcoming release. Like Firefox, IE7 will boost protection against phishers and malware. It will also allow users to conduct searches without using a search engine page, a feature Firefox and Opera fans have long had at their fingers. The new Microsoft browser will also join its competitors in supporting non-English character domain names, as well as adding tabbed browsing, another feature long loved by Firefox and Opera devotees. According to Hachamovitch, the Microsoft tabbing options will go beyond those of the other browsers by including Quick Tabs, which generate thumbnail versions of all open pages.

Older Windows machines will not be able to run IE7, as it is being designed specifically for later versions of Windows, including Service Pack 2 of XP. Such will not be the case for the new releases from Firefox, Opera, or Flock – all of which will also run on Mac and Linux systems.

Opera 9 was released today, continuing its innovative but barely visible impact on the browser market with the introduction of Web based applications, called “widgets,” that run off of the browser but appear to be independent tools. Additionally, the Opera 9 supports BitTorrent and allows users to determine scripts preferences on a per-site basis.

Adding to the options and excitement is the introduction of a test version of the Flock browser, which uses Firefox as its basis and both encourages users to share content and makes it easier for MySpace members to manipulate and manage images.