Firefox, the Mozilla Foundation's first product squarely aimed at end users, has been met with glowing praise from reviewers, web authors, the blogging community and the more than three million users who have left behind web nuisances such as pop-up ads, security holes and spyware by installing Firefox. "This new release brings Firefox closer to its much-anticipated 1.0 release, which will mark a milestone in the history of the Mozilla Foundation," observed Mitchell Baker, President of the Mozilla Foundation.

A number of key improvements in this release make this the best time yet for users to reload their browser experience and migrate to Firefox. "Months of development and hundreds of open source developers contributed towards this release, working within the Mozilla Foundation's proven development model," commented Ben Goodger, Firefox' Lead Engineer.

New features in Firefox 0.9 include:

• Easy migration: Switching to Firefox has never been easier now that Firefox imports data like Favorites, history, settings, cookies and passwords from Internet Explorer. Firefox can also import settings from Mozilla 1.x, Netscape and Opera.
• Smaller Download: Continuing efforts to make this the most efficient browser, the Windows version of Firefox is now only a 4.7 MB download, making downloading Firefox a breeze for dial-up and broadband users alike.
• New Default Theme: A new default theme provides a bright new look for Windows and Linux users.
• SmartUpdate: A new SmartUpdate feature notifies users of new versions of Firefox to ensure that the browser is always up to date.
• Help: A new online help system makes this one powerful, friendly browser.
• Extension/Theme Manager: New Extension and Theme Managers provide a convenient and secure way to manage and update the hundreds of add-ons that set Firefox apart from other browsers.

Later this week, the Foundation will also release a new version of its Internet suite, Mozilla 1.7 (including a web browser, mail client, Internet Relay Chat client and web page editor), and a new preview release of Thunderbird, its standalone email application.

GETTING FIREFOX
Firefox 0.9 is available as a free download from www.mozilla.org. Users can also purchase an affordable CD edition from the Mozilla project's web site. Mozilla applications run on a wide range of operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux, and are translated into dozens of languages. All source code and documentation is freely available under the open source Mozilla Public License.

SUPPORTING MOZILLA
Individuals and companies from around the world support the Mozilla Foundation through voluntary contributions of time, money and resources. To discover how you or your company can join in and help support Mozilla, please send mail to donations@mozilla.org.

ABOUT THE MOZILLA FOUNDATION
Established in July 2003 with start-up support from America Online's Netscape division, the Mozilla Foundation exists to provide organizational, legal, and financial support for the Mozilla open source software project. The Foundation is based in Mountain View, California and is the heir to the great legacy and tradition of the Internet's first widely used browser, Netscape.
Mozilla and the Mozilla logo are registered trademarks of the Mozilla Foundation.

PRESS CONTACTS:
- Bart Decrem, (650) 387-0625
- Catherine Corre, (650) 814-1356
- email: press@mozilla.org
For the latest Mozilla-related news and commentary, support and discussion, please visit MozillaZine, http://www.mozillazine.org, the largest independent Mozilla news and support site on the web. This press release was written by Sean Michael Kerner / Results Overhead Inc. ##