You wait years for Microsoft to update Internet Explorer and then it goes and puts out two in as many years. News comes that the Redmond behemoth has plans to unleash the successor to IE7 to the developer community.

Developers that have previously tested the rival to Firefox have been contacted by Microsoft and told that pre-release code would be made available to the general public but said that the code is really "focused on the developer community". The public beta will be available once the invitation-only testing has completed.

It seems that Microsoft is beginning to learn how to play nicely with internet standards and promises that the new browser would comply more with web standards, have better security and an improved user interface (well, how could it be worse than IE7)

As reported by Absolute Gadget at the time, IE7 was launched in October 2006, to less than rapturous applause by the internet community. But at least it was a start.

In other browser news, IE rival Firefox have passed the 500 million download mark, which we are sure does keep some at Microsoft awake at night. To celebrate this success, most would head off down the pub and knock back a few shandys, but Mozilla has urged users to to donate 500 million grains of rice to the world's poor and needy.

A message on Spread Firefox, said that if 500 million grains of rice could be raised it would be enough to feed 25,000 people for a day.