Mozilla Foundation officials have reconfirmed that the next version of the browser will go straight for 1.5.

So far, everybody has been expecting Firefox 1.1, but Mozilla Foundation considered that the there are too many changes brought to the current version, Firefox 1.0.6, and therefore they've decided to skip the rest of the versions and release Firefox 1.5.

Initially, Firefox 1.5 was announced for August, but now, the new browser is expected to reach beta in this year's September, which will be followed by the final version somewhere towards the end of 2005.

The features prepared by Mozilla Foundation for the new version are related to better functionality and an extension system that allows the faster installing and management of third party developed add-ons.

Firefox 1.5 will also include support for Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), which is a set of instructions for handling the rendering of 2D images.

Mozilla Foundation has recently announced that a new commercial entity, Mozilla Corporation, will be born, its purpose being the collecting of funds so that Firefox remains free.

Mozilla Foundation officials also said that 2006 might bring Firefox 2.0 and that there are also plans for Firefox 3.0, but no other details were given.

Firefox, the browser with a market share of 10%, is Internet Explorer's main rival. Its popularity is the result of the users' enthusiasm, the companies still not being eager to install and promote it.