Survey Shows Consumers Have Little Choice In Internet Browsers

In a growing threat to archrival Netscape, Microsoft Corp. has managed to make its Internet Explorer the easiest browser for consumers to choose on seven of the 12 biggest Internet access providers, according to a new survey.

Only three of the 12 U.S. services tell Internet users that Netscape Navigator is their default browser and two say they make it easy to use either one, according to the survey by consumer group NetAction.

The group telephoned Internet service providers to ask which browser comes bundled with the service.

After essentially creating the browser market, Netscape still holds an estimated 70 percent share. But in the past year and a half, Microsoft has come from nowhere to wrest the one-third share.

Users can download the browser they want to use, but Microsoft has taken a strategy of bundling its program with the start-up software distributed by companies that provide access to the Internet.

“Obviously people that are technically sophisticated will know that they can use any software they want or download it. But the average person buying their first computer is just going to take what they can get,” said Audrie Krause, executive director of NetAction.

Microsoft gives its browser away, while Netscape charges $59 after a free trial period.