Microsoft today released a platform preview of Internet Explorer 9. Good news for fans of Microsoft’s browser, but some bad news for people who still use Windows XP.

The good news: Next version of Internet Explorer will add support for the latest web technologies like HTML5, which will result in support for video standards like MPEG-4 and H.264. Other improvements will include better browsing experience and speed, a new JavaScript compiler that will make websites like Gmail more responsive, CSS3 features and scalable vector graphics.

The bad news: Microsoft has made it official that IE9 will not support Windows XP, leaving behind all XP users to upgrade to Windows 7 if they are to use IE9.

With IE9 Microsoft wants to cover the drop in its market share since rivals like Mozilla, Google and Opera came on stage. Currently, its global usage share is 50 to 60 percent.

The Internet Explorer project started in 1995, but fully developed as a web browser in 1999. In the late 1990s Microsoft spent over $100 million a year for developing IE.

[Internet Explorer 9: An Early Look]

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Tags | browser, ie9, internet explorer, microsoft