Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) is now available for download from the Microsoft website.

Previously, the company had only released unfinished versions of the browser for testing. Now web users can download the first full version of IE8 for free from 16:00 GMT today (March 19th).

Microsoft appears to be placing the greatest emphasis on the browser's security features in the latest release of IE, stating that the browser can block up to four times more malware attacks than its rivals.

Another new feature is Web Slices, which pushes website updates to the browser whenever a user logs on to the internet.

IE8 also offers visual search suggestions and Accelerators, which brings up options to carry out popular online tasks such as sending an email or sharing content with others whenever certain text is highlighted.

"With IE8, we are delivering a browser that gets people to the information they need fast and provides protection that no other browser can match," remarked Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer in a statement.

The browser is being showcased in its entirety for the first time at the MIX09 web developer conference in Las Vegas today.

According to statistics from Net Applications, IE holds a 67.44 per cent share of the global web browser market.

Its nearest rival, Firefox, has 21.77 per cent.