Opera Software has announced a major new upgrade to its web browser, promising better performance, usability and productivity for users

Opera Software has announced a major new upgrade to its web browser, promising better performance, usability and productivity for users.

Opera 9, currently in beta, includes new downloadable web applications, called widgets, to support various functions and improve the user experience, said the firm's chief executive, Jon von Tetzchner.

"Widgets are the same as any application you'll find on the desktop, but because they are web-based, they're easier to upgrade, which solves a lot of problems," von Tetzchner added. "And if you have multiple operating systems [running in your enterprise] you can run the widgets on all of them, because they are based on web standards."

Over a hundred widgets have already been written and are listed under topics such as date and time, search and newsfeeds.

The browser also includes several improvements for usability, such as improved rich text editing, search engine customisation, and thumbnail previews of opened tabs.

"It's all about listening to what users want and then making it work," said von Tetzchner. "It has a broad appeal [to all industries] and we are shipping on just about everything – any operating system and any machine."

Users can also block content such as pop-up advertising or images, and can register site-specific preferences for regularly-visited web pages that they want to view in a particular way.

"It's a very light [browser], with one of the lightest resource requirements, " said von Tetzchner. "We aim to [offer the capability] to run it on a 10-year-old computer because a lot of [firms] don't have the resources to upgrade their kit often."