Microsoft plans to launch Internet Explorer 7 "within the next two weeks", the company said at the Digital Life conference in New York. 

Previous announcements had suggested that the application would be available some time in the second half of 2006.

Internet Explorer 7 will be bundled with the forthcoming Windows Vista operating system and will be made available as a free download to Windows XP users.

The new browser promises increased security by running in a protected mode that limits the software's access to other data stored on the system.

The application also comes with a built-in phishing filter that prevents users from accessing known phishing websites.

Other new features include tabbed browsing and a way to make it easier to clear the browser's history setting.

Internet Explorer's market share meanwhile is slipping, according to recent data from web traffic monitoring firm Net Applications. 

The analyst pegged the browser's market share in September at 82.1 per cent, down from 84 per cent in June and 86.9 per cent in September last year.

The open source Firefox browser saw its market share jump to 12.5 per cent last month, up from 7.6 per cent one year ago.