Redesigned Microsoft.com doesn't support Firefox, Opera?

Thanks to shishyan for the heads up!

Take a trip to the preview site for Microsoft's new homepage and you'll notice a nice shiny new layout with a fresher look and feel to it, provided you're using Internet Explorer.

In Firefox, Opera or a number of other third-party browsers the site simply redirects to the current homepage, even if you dress the browser up to appear to be Internet Explorer 6.0. Is this simply a preliminary bug-testing compatability period, or is there more method to Microsoft's madness?

The growth of third-party alternatives to Microsoft's once be-all-and-end-all browser has been phenomenal in the last few years, with recent reports claiming that a quarter of web users have switched to Firefox.

The exclusivity enjoyed by IE users isn't particularly significant but is certainly food for thought.

See for yourself:

Link: Redisigned Microsoft.com Preview