IE6 is the oldest browser on the soon-to-be-dumped list, but some of the browsers are relatively new. , for example, and only replaced it with Chrome 4 in January 2010. Mozilla replaced Firefox 2 with Firefox 3 in June 2008.

On March 1, Google dropped Microsoft's IE6 from the list of supported browsers for its online application suite; it later announced that it would Web-based mail service later this year.

IE6 has been getting the cold shoulder from prominent Web sites and services for some time. YouTube, Facebook and Digg have all announced that they will no longer support IE6. And last March, a Denver design firm hosted a mock funeral for the browser; Microsoft sent a floral arrangement with a card reading, "Thanks for the good times."

Microsoft has been begging users to leave IE6 for almost a year, most recently earlier this month with a campaign in Australia that said the browser was .

This week, however, Microsoft officials gave conflicting comments about IE6.