Google to pull the plug on older browsers from August

From 1 August Google will support only what it calls "modern browsers", which include the latest versions and major prior releases of Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari.

With the release of newer versions of these browsers, Google would get its web services working with them and then withdraw support for the third-oldest version.

Support in the sense would mean that Google would only carry out compatibility testing with more up-to-date browsers and not carry out tests with older programmes and offer no guarantees that web services would work with them.

In conclusion of the blogpost, Venkat Panchapakesan, vice president of engineering at Google, says, "These new browsers are more than just a modern convenience, they are a necessity for what the future holds."

In mid-May, Mozilla, which oversees development of Firefox, initiated a plan for the 12 million or so people using version 3.5 of its browser to update. The company said it was frustrated over efforts to get people to upgrade and had to take a series of steps to force the change.

For this it used pop-up screens, adverts, re-directs and updates to encourage people to change to more recent versions of Firefox.