Over the past nine months, Microsoft has doubled its share of the Internet browser market to 40%, up from 20% at the end of 1996, according to a Dataquest survey. Arch rival Netscape still leads with close to 58%, but that's down from 73% earlier.

"If Microsoft's growth in browser share continues, Dataquest projects Internet Explorer to reach parity with Netscape Navigator as early as the second quarter of 1998," says a Dataquest analyst. "The important battle to watch is the change by version &£45;- particularly, will Navigator version 3 users move to Navigator version 4, or will they choose Internet Explorer, or both?"

((c) AP 18 Nov 97)