Google Chrome took brief lead from Internet Explorer

Google Chrome briefly emerged as the world's most popular web browser last weekend, overtaking Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for the first time, according to statistics.

Google Chrome briefly emerged as the world's most popular web browser last weekend, overtaking Microsoft's Internet Explorer for the first time, according to statistics.

StatCounter, which compiled the figures, said Google Chrome took the lead on March 18, when office workers were using their own computers instead of ones controlled by corporate IT departments.

'While it is only one day, this is a milestone. At weekends, when people are free to choose what browser to use, many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to IE,' The Telegraph quoted StatCounter's chief executive Aodhan Cullen, as saying.

According to Statcounter data, Chrome was used for 32.7 percent of browsing, while Internet Explorer had 32.5 percent share on March 18.

But Microsoft's share recovered to 35 percent, while Chrome's share slipped to 30 percent on March 19.

Chrome relegated Firefox from second to third position worldwide for the long term in December.

Some analysts have questioned whether Google can also overturn Internet Explorer due to Microsoft's dominance of incorporate desktops.

'Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen, however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable,' Cullen said.

StatCounter data is collected from a sample of over 15 billion page views on more than three million websites.