Competition for the best Mac Web browser has not slackened a bit between main vendors.

Microsoft is readying the next version of its Internet Explorer browser, which will probably be previewed at the MacWorld convention in San Francisco this week. The latest version of Internet Explorer comes only weeks after Netscape released the latest version of the Mac version of its Communicator suite of browser software. That version has won high praise from reviewers, who gave Communicator the edge, however fleeting, in its competition with Microsoft. Now Communicator may lose that edge if leaks and initial online chatter about Internet Explorer prove true. This version, dubbed 4.5, promises easier use. In Internet Explorer 4.5, Microsoft has taken an approach that differs from its normal software strategy. It has decided to focus on tweaking Internet Explorer rather than adding tons of new features.