MacDailyNews is reporting that Apple's Safari hit "a new all-time high with 6.25% share of the browsers visiting Net Applications' network" of the web sites it tracks worldwide. Net Applications' Web Browser stats for May 2008 are based on 40,000 "predominantly ecommerce or corporate sites" worldwide.

So, without further ado...:

Net Applications' May 2008 Web Browser Stats:

- Microsoft Internet Explorer: 73.75% (vs. MAY 2006: 84.20%)
- Mozilla Firefox: 18.41% (vs. MAY 2006: 10.55%)
- Apple Safari: 6.25% (vs. MAY 2006: 3.26%)
Opera: 0.71%
- Netscape: 0.62%
- Mozilla: 0.08%
- Opera Mini: 0.05%
- Playstation: 0.03%
- Microsoft Pocket Internet Explorer: 0.02%
- Konqueror: 0.02%
- Blazer: 0.02%
- WebTV: 0.01%
- ACCESS NetFront: 0.01%
- ANT Galio: 0.00%
- Lotus Notes: 0.00%
- iCab: 0.00%
- BlackBerry: 0.00%
- Danger Web Browser: 0.00%

Since Net Applications tracks corporate and ecommerce websites, it isn't possible to predict exactly how many are restricted to Windows and/or IE, thus these figures don't necessarily reflect Apple's "market share" as far as web browsing goes. Nevertheless, as MacDailyNews notes, "what's important is the trend," which clearly shows that Safari is becoming more popular among the web browsing community with the passing of each month.

Apple's Software Update mechanism, that enables Windows users to improve the operability of iTunes, QuickTime and Safari, has been quite a pain in the neck for Windows users in the past two months. Folks unwillingly downloaded and installed Safari thinking they were updating an existing piece of software on their PCs. Apple was bashed for failing to specify that its Software Update program was actually pushing Safari onto Windows users. The Cupertino-based corporation has since updated its Software Update program, resolving that issue, so it is fair to assume that if Safari's popularity continues to increase, we might as well put this story behind us.

If you're a Mac owner, Apple's standard web browser on Leopard, Safari, is currently at version 3.1.1, which supports the latest web standards for delivering a next-gen Web 2.0 experience.

PayPal has recently set up a list of recommended/safe web browsers for the average user. Safari is not among them because it still doesn't fully protect non-savvy users from phishing sites.