Microsoft's Russian press website has revealed (and then quickly pulled) the interface for the current preview build of Internet Explorer 9.
As you can see from the image below, IE9's visual style is quite a departure from the traditional look of Internet Explorer and looks more akin to Google Chrome.
As you can see from the image below, IE9's visual style is quite a departure from the traditional look of Internet Explorer and looks more akin to Google Chrome.
Although the screenshot has now been pulled from the original website, Mary-Jo Foley at ZDNet was fortunately quick enough to grab a copy of the original screenshot before it was taken down.
Among the new features touted for IE9 is 'Tear-off Tabs', which will supposedly allow users to take off and move around tabs in a similar manner to Windows Aero Snap. The simplified nature of the new UI appears to be a conscious choice for Microsoft, who are aiming to leave "more room for the site" when browsing the internet.
There's no fixed release date yet but many in the industry are predicting a 2011 arrival for Internet Explorer 9.
Source(s): ZDNet, Microsoft (Russia)