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Microsoft's mobile operating system may be under pressure, but it is busily enhancing other aspects of its mobile offering, including the much criticized Internet Explorer Mobile browser, whose release 6 aims to fend off rising competition from open source and vendor-specific options.

IE Mobile 6 will soon be released for Windows handsets, and claims to emulate Apple Safari and RIM's new browser in delivering an experience close to that on the desktop. New features, geared to this objective, include support for full fidelity desktop rendering; improved layout for mobile screens; enhanced support for Ajax and Javascript; and the incorporation of Adobe Flash Lite 3.1. Microsoft also says, as it goes on the warpath against Google for carrier mobile search deals, that search will be more deeply integrated with the browser.

There will also be more efficient switching between mobile and desktop versions of sites, and improved cursor navigation and touch/gesture support, says the software giant. If it delivers its promises, it is certainly focusing on the browser capabilities that are driving mobile web usage, and which are most important to end users, as shown by the success of the iPhone - RIM has also announced a new browser for its latest BlackBerries, emulating many of the features of a desktop browser, and Google lurks on the horizon with its Chrome project, while veteran challenger Opera recently added video playback to its Mini platform. It is vital to Microsoft and Windows Mobile that IE Mobile 6 delivers on its promises, since vendors are increasingly defaulting on other browsers even on Windows phones - Sony Ericsson uses Opera 9.5 on its Xperia X1 for instance.

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced ambitious plans to integrate its online services set, Windows Live, which includes Hotmail and Messenger, with other popular sites including Flickr, Twitter and Facebook, on PC and mobile systems. This would create a hub for a user to manage all their social networking, email, messaging and other communications.

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