Microsoft has revealed details of the next incarnation of its browser, just three weeks into its development process. The key promises include making Internet Explorer 9 as fast as rival browsers, and allowing hardware to do more of the work with web graphics.

Peace between Microsoft and the European Union looks a step closer today after EU officials said they would likely be satisfied with the firm’s proposals for settling the Internet Explorer bundling row. The woman in charge of EU competition policy agreed to test plans to offer Windows users a choice of browsers.

Speaking at a press conference today, Neelie Kroes said Microsoft had tweaked its proposals for a “ballot screen” after discussions with officials. Under the revised system, people setting up Windows for the first time will see a screen explaining what a web browser is. They’ll then see a list of browsers to choose between, each with a “Tell me more” button linking to more details about that particular browser.

There’s nothing like a good bitch fight between two of the biggest tech companies in the world. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing between Microsoft and Google over the security of Chrome Frame, with Microsoft claiming the plug-in makes IE less secure and Google taking the exact opposite view. Let battle commence.

As unbelievable as it may seem, a lot of people are stuck using older versions of Internet Explorer. The reasons for this vary but the main one is that some companies are resisting upgrading. Microsoft has been urging people to upgrade, particularly from the aged IE6, and now Google is doing the same. Only it;s doing so by hijacking it with what it calls Chrome Frame.

There was a time when almost every single one of us used Internet Explorer as our Web browser. The reasons being there was little competition for the Microsoft product and its inclusion in every copy of Windows meant most people didn’t bother searching out the alternatives that did exist. How times have changed.

Microsoft has officially announced it will be dropping the ‘E’ range, the special versions of Windows 7 planned to ship without a Web browser. The decision means the company is also able to confirm a Family Pack offer.

There we were thinking the Windows 7 Web browser issue was over. But apparently not. Microsoft has proposed a ballot screen for Windows 7 users so they can each individually select their browser of choice during installation. Fair does, surely. Not so say the people in charge of Mozilla, the community behind Firefox.

Europe was getting Windows 7E, a version of Windows 7 without Internet Explorer included. But no longer. Microsoft has now decided to chance its arm and assume the EU will accept its proposal of a browser ballot screen during Windows 7 installation. So Europe will now be getting exactly the same version of Windows 7 as the rest of the world.

Microsoft’s proposal to offer European users a choice of browsers upon installing Windows may satisfy regulator concerns over competition issues. But the practical implementation may throw up some other problems.

It looks as though Microsoft may have conceded defeat in its fight against the European Union’s antitrust charges relating to the bundling of the Internet Explorer Web browser in Windows 7. The EU wasn’t happy with the plans to exclude a browser from the OS completely, so it seems European Windows buyers will now be given a choice via a ballot screen.

To say Microsoft has a love/hate relationship with the European Union (EU) would be completely wrong. In reality, it’s a hate/hate relationship which has only gotten worse in the past few months. But both sides may now be looking to settle the remaining antitrust issues before more fines and sanctions against the company are imposed.

Microsoft has warned anyone using Windows XP or Server 2003 to apply a workaround to a serious security problem in Internet Explorer. The issue, which doesn’t yet have a patch for a permanent solution, is already being exploited by hackers.

The browser wars to determine who controls how we access the Web have been going on for quite some time. Microsoft has been winning this battle forever, but maybe that winning streak is about to come to an end. Internet Explorer is certainly losing ground to its main rivals, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari.

Microsoft has a very mixed history when it comes to advertising. Some campaigns have been good, most have been nothing short of awful. This year has already seen the brilliant ‘Laptop Hunters’ editions of the ‘I’m a PC’ campaign, and now we have a batch of ads to promote Internet Explorer 8. They’re interesting, to say the least.

Spin doctoring, the art of subtly changing the facts to sell a product, person, or concept, is inherent in every aspect of our lives these days, from politics to entertainment. And, it seems, it’s also alive and kicking in the Web browser war, at least as far as Microsoft and Internet Explorer 8 is concerned.