( CNN ) -- This might be the start of a new chapter in the browser wars . Over the weekend , Google Chrome routed more Internet traffic than Microsoft 's Internet Explorer , which long has held its spot as the most-used Web browser in the world , according to data from StatCounter , an Internet monitor . Do n't rush to over-interpret this bit of news , though . Other Internet trackers still show Internet Explorer -- which comes pre-installed on many Windows computers and has long been a default -- in the lead . And some groups have criticized StatCounter 's data collection methods , saying the group does not account for the different ways countries collect Internet traffic data . Still , the numbers are a sign of the times . Bonjour Google ! Gmail adds auto-translation . Google Chrome , which is regarded as the hipper , faster and more developer-friendly browser , is gaining ground on the competition . `` Whether Chrome can take the lead in the browser wars in the long term remains to be seen , however the trend towards Chrome usage at weekends is undeniable , '' StatCounter 's CEO Aodhan Cullen said in a written news release in March , when Chrome bested Explorer for a day . `` At weekends , when people are free to choose what browser to use , many of them are selecting Chrome in preference to Internet Explorer . '' According to StatCounter 's latest report , which was spotted by the blog Global Nerdy , Google Chrome fielded 32.8 % of Web page requests on Sunday . That compares to 31.9 % for Internet Explorer and 25.5 % for Mozilla Firefox , which once was seen as the most viable alternative to the long-dominant IE . Tech blog TheNextWeb says the numbers are n't exact but they are significant . `` Measuring the Web is an imprecise science , very often based on scaling up small scale measurement surveys , '' the blog writes , `` but the gist of StatCounter 's data over the last year indicates that Chrome use is rising ... at the expense of IE and Firefox , regardless of the exact precision of the data . '' ComScore , another company that tracks Internet traffic , does not release comparable numbers . But spokesman Andrew Lipsman said in an e-mail that StatCounter 's numbers are `` consistent with what I 've seen . '' `` Chrome has definitely been increasing its share over the past couple years , '' he wrote . Several factors appear to contribute to Chrome 's rise . One is frustration with Microsoft 's Internet Explorer , which , fairly or not , is seen by some Web users as not very innovative . Another is the increasing role Chrome plays in all aspects of computing , especially for people who use Google 's other online services , like Gmail and Google Translate . Some of the browser 's features enhance other Google products , and the Chrome Web store is home to an increasingly robust catalog of add-ons that improve the browser 's functionality . CNN 's partner site Mashable has published a list of some of the best . Google also has tried to position the browser as the basis for the operating system of the future . And then there 's the ad campaign . Google has been running TV spots showing people using Chrome to communicate with each other . The tagline : `` The web is what you make of it . ''
Report : Google quickly passes Internet Explorer in browser ##s . The numbers may not be exact , but they do indicate a trend . Chome 's popularity has been rising as Google 's grows . Google 's browser is seen as being faster and more innovative .