Microsoft has informed the Macintosh community, through their "Mactopia" website, that the Mac version of their Internet Explorer browser will be discontinued.

"In June 2003, the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit announced that Internet Explorer for Mac would undergo no further development, and support would cease in 2005. In accordance with published support lifecycle policies, Microsoft will end support for Internet Explorer for Mac on December 31st, 2005, and will provide no further security or performance updates."

The download page gives us the 16th of June 2003 as the date the newest version of Internet Explorer 5.2.3 for Mac OS X was released. Since then, there have been no security or performance updates, so it is unclear exactly what the Microsoft Macintosh Business Unit will stop, because support for this program has stopped coming a long time ago.

"Additionally, as of January 31st, 2006, Internet Explorer for the Mac will no longer be available for download from Mactopia. It is recommended that Macintosh users migrate to more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple's Safari."

Internet Explorer comes bundled with OS X, so everyone who has a Mac will still have it. As far as migrating to a more recent web browser, it is highly recommended that you do not keep using an almost three year old browser.