Web browsers are something that many take for granted, and currently the most popular browser is Internet Explorer (IE). But alternatives are still there, and one of the most eagerly awaited is Mozilla 1, an open-source project that grew from AOL's takeover of Netscape. In fact, Netscape 7 is based on Mozilla.

Mozilla will run on a pretty low-spec machine, including versions of Windows that won't run the latest IE. It's a also available for lots of other platforms too, including Mac OS X and Linux. Installation is straightforward, though Windows and Linux users will need to install Java support separately; you can visit a Java-enabled site and the browser will do most of this for you.

If you've used Netscape 6, you'll be familiar with Mozilla's sidebar, where you can have search tools, buddy lists and news tickers. There's also a mail and newsgroup tool, which supports Imap as well as POP3, so you can use Mozila for all your needs - though frankly the mail's not as capable as Eudora or Outlook Express. The look and feel is OK, but perhaps not as slick as IE or commercial alternatives.

An oft-cited reason for sticking with IE is that most sites work best with it; but Mozilla doesn't encounter anything more than a minor Javascript glitch, and has no problems with script-intensive sites, or online banking, but that's not to say you'll never have problems. With AOL likely to switch to using the guts of Mozilla, compatibility will be less of an issue.

Speed seems comparable to IE. If you're looking for an alternative to IE, or something that runs on all the systems, Mozilla 1 is worth a serious look. Download location : www.mozilla.org

I am using firefox I think it is the browser from mozilla family.