Mozilla representative Damon Sicore said that the new version of Firefox would handle applications like Gmail and Google Maps much more nimbly.
"It gives you the horsepower you need to experience rich Internet apps as they should be from a performance standpoint," he said. "As these apps get bigger and more complicated, faster browsers are going to become more critical."
Sicore said that previous versions of Firefox would take 227 milliseconds to switch message views in Gmail, while Microsoft IE would take 413. Firefox 3.0 will only take 60, he said.
Some of the most prominent new features in Firefox 3.0 include:
• Improved memory management.
• A gizmo called the Smart Location Bar, aka the "Awesome Bar," which lets users type in actual words to call up recent web addresses visited that involved those words or topics.
• Support for animated PNG graphics.
• One-click bookmarking and the ability to tag and add descriptions to bookmarks.
Also, during its beta-testing phase, Firefox 3.0 also included improved security against phishing and viruses, as well as parental-control settings that integrate with operating systems like Windows Vista. Users also will have the option to save their active tabs when they close the program and the ability to use Mac OS X's native spellchecker.
Firefox has proven popular in the adult industry, especially among tech professionals. Carl Borowitz, vice president of marketing for Big Sister Media, praised Mozilla's signature application.
"It's more stable, less vulnerable to spyware and it had tabbed browsing before Microsoft [Internet Explorer]," said Carl Borowitz, vice president of marketing for Big Sister Media.
Mozilla is hyping the release by coordinating an effort to set a Guiness world record for most downloads in a 24-hour period. Webmasters interested in joining the record attempt can visit SpreadFirefox.com to pledge to download the application, which will be available at Mozilla.com and also at SpreadFirefox.com.
Earlier release candidates of Firefox 3.0 are available at Download.com: