As expected, Mozilla today released the third version of its popular web browser, the Firefox 3. According to Mozilla, Firefox 3 is the culmination of three years of efforts from thousands of developers, security experts, localization and support communities, and testers from around the globe. The browser is now available in approx 50 languages, and is two to three times faster than its predecessor Firefox 2. The latest version includes over 15,000 improvements, including the revolutionary smart location bar, malware protection, and extensive under the hood work to improve the speed and performance of the browser.

So what’s new in Firefox 3?

The most important feature of this new version is the smart location bar, affectionately known as the “Awesome Bar”. The bar learns as you use it, adapting to your preferences and offering better fitting matches over time.

The Firefox 3 library archives browsing history, bookmarks, and tags, where they can be easily searched and organized. One-click bookmarking and tagging makes it easy to remember, search and organize Web sites. The new full-page zoom displays any part of a Web page, up close and readable, in seconds.

The browser is built on top of the powerful new Gecko 1.9 platform, resulting in a safer, easier to use and more personal product. Firefox 3 now uses less memory while it’s running, and its redesigned page rendering and layout engine means users see Web pages two to three times faster than Firefox 2.

Firefox 3 raises the bar for security. The new malware and phishing protection helps protect from viruses, worms, trojans and spyware to keep people safe on the Web. Firefox 3’s one-click site ID information allows users to verify that a site is what it claims to be. Mozilla’s open source process leverages the experience of thousands of security experts around the globe.

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