Apple released a 3.1 version of its Safari Web browser with several improvements. Apple said the new version loads Web pages 1.9 times faster than Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7 and 1.7 times faster than the open-source Firefox 2 browser. It also said Safari 3.1 runs JavaScript up to six times faster than any other browser, and it is the first to support new Web standards.

Apple said the speed benchmarks were based on VeriTest's iBench Version 5.0 with default settings, running on an iMac 2.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo system with Windows XP and 1GB of memory.

For Mac and Windows

The browser is available as a free download at www.apple.com/safari, and works on both Mac OS X and Windows operating systems. For Mac, the browser requires either the Tiger 10.4.11 version of Mac OS X, or Leopard, with at least 256MB of memory on any Intel-based Mac or any Mac with a PowerPC G5, G4 or G3 processor. For Windows XP or Vista, at least 256MB of memory is required and at least a 500-MHz Intel Pentium processor.

Apple Senior Vice President Philip Schiller said Safari 3.1 is "blazingly fast, easy to use" and features an "elegant user interface." Best of all, he added, the newest Safari supports audio, video and animation standards needed for the next generation of Web 2.0 experiences.

In particular, Apple noted that Safari 3.1 is the first browser to support new video and audio tags in HTML 5, as well as the first to support CSS animations. It also supports CSS Web fonts that offer new design choices.

Support for MacBook Air

The interface includes drag-and-drop bookmarks, easy-to-organize tabs, and an integrated Find that shows the number of matches in a page. A built-in RSS reader enables the user to scan and view news and information from feeds. Other features include double-clicking on the tab bar to open a new tab, URL metadata that accompanies images when they are dragged or saved from the browser, and support for trackpad gestures of back, forward and multiply on MacBook Air computers.

The new Safari also supports offline storage for Web applications in SQL databases, support for SVG and CSS images, and support for SVG advanced text. The Windows version improves on back and forward controls, supports signed Java applets, shows the Caps Lock icon in password fields, and adds support for international domain names. In addition, a contextual menu in the Windows version permits opening a link in a window or tab and there is improved pop-up blocking for plug-ins.

For the developer, Apple noted that there is now an option in Safari preferences to turn on the new Develop menu, which has Web development options. There is also access to a Web inspector with CSS editing, an improved snippet editor, and support for a custom user agent string.