<p>Microsoft Corp is pulling the plug on its once omnipresent browser, Internet Explorer, next year as it prepares to battle market leader Chrome with its slicker Edge browser.</p>.<p>Launched in 1995, Internet Explorer became the dominant browser for over a decade as it was bundled with Microsoft's Windows operating system that came pre-installed in billions of computers.</p>.<p>The browser, however, started losing out to Google's Chrome in the late 2000s and has become a subject of countless internet memes for its sluggishness in comparison to its rivals.</p>.<p>To compete better, Microsoft launched the Edge browser in 2015 that runs on the same technology as the Google browser.</p>.<p>As of April, Chrome has a 65% share of the global browser market, followed by Apple Inc's Safari, with an 18% share, according to web analytics firm Statcounter. Microsoft Edge has a 3% share, while Internet Explorer has a miniscule share of the market it once dominated.</p>.<p>The Windows software maker said on Wednesday the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 was in its faster and more secure Microsoft Edge.</p>.<p>"Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10," the company said in a blog post. </p>.<p>The browser was at the heart of an antitrust case against Microsoft more than two decades ago, with a US judge deciding that the software titan had broken the law after it combined Internet Explorer and the Windows operating system.</p>.<p>The most serious violations of the law were upheld on appeal, but the company continued to bundle its operating system and browser. </p>
<p>Microsoft Corp is pulling the plug on its once omnipresent browser, Internet Explorer, next year as it prepares to battle market leader Chrome with its slicker Edge browser.</p>.<p>Launched in 1995, Internet Explorer became the dominant browser for over a decade as it was bundled with Microsoft's Windows operating system that came pre-installed in billions of computers.</p>.<p>The browser, however, started losing out to Google's Chrome in the late 2000s and has become a subject of countless internet memes for its sluggishness in comparison to its rivals.</p>.<p>To compete better, Microsoft launched the Edge browser in 2015 that runs on the same technology as the Google browser.</p>.<p>As of April, Chrome has a 65% share of the global browser market, followed by Apple Inc's Safari, with an 18% share, according to web analytics firm Statcounter. Microsoft Edge has a 3% share, while Internet Explorer has a miniscule share of the market it once dominated.</p>.<p>The Windows software maker said on Wednesday the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 was in its faster and more secure Microsoft Edge.</p>.<p>"Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10," the company said in a blog post. </p>.<p>The browser was at the heart of an antitrust case against Microsoft more than two decades ago, with a US judge deciding that the software titan had broken the law after it combined Internet Explorer and the Windows operating system.</p>.<p>The most serious violations of the law were upheld on appeal, but the company continued to bundle its operating system and browser. </p>