Firefox 3 has overtaken Internet Explorer 7 as the most popular web browser in Europe. According to stats published by StatCounter Firefox 3 currently accounts for 35.09% of web browser share in Europe. Internet Explorer 7 comes in second at 34.51% with Internet Explorer 6 lagging way behind in third place at 11.92%.

This is a staggering statistic – for as long as anyone can remember Internet Explorer has always dominated the browser market with a fairly hefty lead. While Internet Explorer as a browser on the whole (across all its versions) is still more popular than Firefox, these statistics show that the gap is narrowing quite dramatically. In Europe at least…

What does this mean? Well, it could mean that Eurpoean web consumers are becoming more web savvy, care more about security and speed and have simply opted to use a superior web browser. The knock on effect of this is much better support for web standards on the whole, making our lives as web desginers much easier. It also means less pressure to support hideously out-dated browsers such as Internet Explorer 6. I love it when a plan starts to come together!

If you haven’t already joined the revolution get involved at www.mozilla.com/firefox!