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The test is restricted to AOL's three million CompuServe users, but if it proves satisfactory the company could integrate Netscape into a future version of its AOL software, which provides Web access to 15 per cent of the world's Internet users.

At present 91 per cent of Internet users use Internet Explorer and just eight per cent use Netscape. If AOL decides to switch, it could double Netscape's market share. The degree of market share could prove critical as AOL and Microsoft compete to provide the means for e-commerce transactions, as well as email services and instant messaging.

Nevertheless, perhaps the key factor in AOL's decision is its ownership of Netscape, which it acquired in 1999. The company is also in the process of suing Microsoft, alleging that its violation of US anti-trust laws cost Netscape market share and accompanying revenues.

Microsoft expressed a lack of surprise at the tests, saying that AOL had hinted at it for years. However, 'The real losers will be AOL users who will now be using inferior technology,' spokesman Jim Cullinan told the Seattle Times.