The Internet Explorer team really loves HTML5. They have put together numerous examples to show of the capabilities of the platform and of course they want to show off how well IE handles the feature set of HTML5.
In this latest example, the team developed an interactive catalog with TheFind, who is a leading vertical search engine for shopping. The result of this collaboration is Glimpse catalog which you can see here.
Microsoft is working to promote the capabilities of IE without locking out other browsers from its projects but why is the company doing this? It wants to show off the power of HTML5 and its robust feature set to help move the industry forward with web standards.
Microsoft is also providing the code that was used to create this site to help other developers design their own projects:
We also are giving away the HTML5 book framework that helped bring Catalogues online - built on turn.js, a feature-rich jQuery plugin for page flipping. This framework also includes:
1. Schema and code for the hot spotting technology. In Glimpse, the hot spotting technology allows users to identify product within the magazine with a single click.
2. Code for 3 presentation views for the book – full screen, grid view and spread view.
3. Improved IE 9 support in turn.js.
Source: Exploring IE