America Online Inc. is bundling its own Web browser into the newest versions of AOL Instant Messenger in an effort that is likely to expose a wider swath of users to the browsing features it has built atop Internet Explorer. The recently renamed AOL Explorer browser is included as part of an upgrade to AIM 5.9, which AOL released in beta on Tuesday. AOL also plans to include the browser in its next-generation AIM client, code-named Triton, which went into beta testing last week, a company spokesperson confirmed.
AOL Explorer is separate from AOL"s Netscape browser. AOL Explorer, formerly called the AOL Browser, has been in beta testing since late last year and is based on Microsoft Corp."s IE rendering engine. The Netscape browser is based on the Mozilla Firefox browser and Gecko engine. In the AIM 5.9 update, AOL Explorer has replaced IE as the browser rendering the AOL Today page, a portal-like page that automatically appears during startup of the AIM client. AOL officials declined to say when the update would be generally available.