Microsoft Internet Explorer continues to make a comeback, gaining market share for the third month in a row, mostly to the detriment of Mozilla Firefox.

Internet Explorer’s share worldwide in fact increased for the second consecutive month to 60.74 per cent, up 0.42 per cent from June and about one percentage point higher than its May figures. Throughout July, Internet Explorer 8 gained 0.98 per cent and now accounts for more than 30 per cent of browser usage.

Internet Explorer’s 60.47 per cent market share is mainly due to a strong showing by IE8, which now boasts a 26.87 per cent share. IE6 is still holding on to second with 16.97 per cent, mainly due to IT departments’ commitment to the outdated browser.

Internet Explorer has been dropping for months but figures released by Net Applications, show that figures are up again for July, where Internet Explorer has managed a small but significant 0.42 per cent gain in market share. That’s the second month in a row Internet Explorer has gained. As a result, Firefox dropped a little, its third monthly drop in a row. Chrome dropped, dumping the small gain it made the previous month. Safari also made a small gain.

At first glance, such small gains in just two months in a row do not seem very impressive however, compared to the significant drops that Microsoft has experienced over the past few years, it’s meaningful. The bottom of the trough may not necessarily have been reached quite yet, but it would appear, at least on the surface, that the worst is over.

Microsoft has been promoting Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 9, the anticipated next browser release, in recent months; favourable reception of the IE8 marketing campaign and enthusiasm for the next browser version may be the source of the worldwide share increase.