Finally, Internet Explorer 9 shed its beta-status as Microsoft Corporation announced on Tuesday the formal launch of the web browser during the South by Southwest Interactive technology festival held in Texas, USA.

Microsoft corporate vice president Dean Hachamovitch said that surfer's internet experience is bound to be altered by the browser's upgraded features, which he said would be offered in 30 different languages and can be downloaded at beautyoftheweb.com.

Hachamovitch said that the new version of Internet Explorer has been designed to complement the features of Windows 7 operating system and to maximise the capability of graphics processing chips in delivering stunning visual and gaming experience.

Microsoft partnered with Facebook, Twitter, Pandora, Hulu, and Yahoo! on its aim of making a more beautiful Web and to reach billions of active internet users, said the tech firm.

The new IE9 has been transformed into a mean and lean tool that Microsoft would eventually regain the foothold its predecessors have lost to current browser leaders, Firefox and Chrome, and the company revealed that 40 million copies have been downloaded so far leading to the official release on Tuesday.

In comparison with emerging industry leader, Firefox, Microsoft showed during the SXSW festival that IE9 functions more smoothly in processing heavy graphics as Ari Bixhorn, director of Microsoft's web service strategy, declared that "the Web as we know it is taking a huge step forward today."

Microsoft said that huge amount of resources and research were poured in reinventing the Internet Explorer as Hachamovitch said that the company believes that "browsing is the top activity people do on their personal computers ... and we want browsing the Web to be a great experience so people keep choosing Windows to do it."

Initial reactions from analysts pointed to excellent remarks for the new browser, which they said may have stumbled on the right cure for its ailing previous versions, which maintained its dominance but were dangerously threatened by the emergence of browsers from Apple, Mozilla, Google and Opera.