AOL making a Standalone Browser

Firefox seems to have reignited the browser war. First, Google made headlines when it got hold of the domain name GBrowser.com pointing towards a possible browser release from them. Now, reports are out on a possible standalone browser from the AOL stable to be simply called “AOL Browser”. AOL has been testing out this browser for more than a month now.

AOL already offers a browser that requires the American Online client installed. Thus, users on other network could not use it for their browsing requirement. This standalone browser would let AOL to get users on any ISP. However, the surprise element of this move is the choice of browser engine that AOL has made. Reports say they have gone ahead with Internet Explorer’s engine rather than the Mozilla’s Gecko engine. A move that baffles most of the users online considering Internet Explorer engine is considered outdated and non standard compliant by web developers and AOL is the parent company of Mozilla Foundation.

So, what features AOL have for its prospective users over Internet Explorer? EWeek reports, AOL Browser will have many features like tabbed browsing, page previews on hovering over back and forward buttons, easy access to clear browsing footprints and many other accessibility features, which Internet Explorer lacks.