Google Chrome 15 takes the top spot from IE8 in global browser market share

From InfoWorld: Google's Chrome 15 has jumped into the number one spot, replacing Microsoft's IE8 (Internet Explorer 8) as the world's most popular browser edition.

Ireland-based StatCounter announced the passing of the baton today, citing data from the last three weeks that put Chrome 15 ahead of IE8 starting the week of Nov. 21.

It was the first time that IE8 had not held the top spot since early 2010, when it replaced IE7 as the most-widely-used browser, and the first time a non-Microsoft application has led the list in StatCounter's tracking.

During the last two weeks of November and the first week of December, Chrome 15 accounted for 24 percent of the global browser usage market, compared to IE8's 22.9 percent. Mozilla's Firefox 8, meanwhile, held a 14 percent share during that period to take third place, and IE9, Microsoft's newest version, had the fourth position with 10.4 percent.

Overall, IE retained its aggregate lead over Chrome, with Microsoft owning 39.5 percent of the market those three weeks compared to Google's 26.5 percent and Mozilla's 25.3 percent.

In the U.S., IE8 retained its top ranking, with 27 percent for the week of Dec. 5, nearly nine points higher than Chrome 15's 18.1 percent, StatCounter said.

But Chrome 15's global fame will be fleeting. Google released Chrome 16 on Tuesday, and with the browser's automatic upgrade mechanism, most users of 15 will soon be running version 16.

Google's latest coup was the second this month: According to StatCounter, Chrome pushed past Firefox in November to snatch the second cumulative spot behind IE.

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