It's the first public release of the browser, code-named Fennec, and it will work on Nokia's N810 and N800 devices.

In addition to the alpha release for the Internet tablets, Mozilla is offering a PC emulator that developers can download to their desktops to see some of the features included in the browser and to get a feel for the user interface, said Jay Sullivan, vice president of mobile for Mozilla.

"This is really for our community to be able to test and localize and build add-ons," he said, referring to both the emulator and the Internet tablet release.

Despite being made by Nokia, the Linux-based N800 devices aren't quite mobile phones. They are larger than a phone but smaller than a laptop and can connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi. They don't include cellular capabilities, although users can connect a phone to the device to reach the mobile Internet. The devices are popular with developers because they use open-source software, but Nokia has not revealed sales figures to indicate how many are in the market.

Mozilla hopes that this release will result in some good user feedback, Sullivan said. "The next step in the road map is to start optimizing for performance," he said.