Opera Browser Downloads Triple After Microsoft Releases Ballot Screen

Opera Software company has announced that the number of downloads for the newly launched Opera 10.5 browser have 'tripled' since Microsoft launched the Windows browser ballot, which allows European users of Internet Explorer web browser to switch a to different browser.

The company reported that the browser download rate was tripled in some European countries such as Belgium, France, Spain, UK and Poland.

This came after software giant Microsoft was forced by the European Commission to offer the browser ballot screen on Windows PCs in which Internet Explorer was installed as the default web browser.

Speaking to technology website "The Register", an Opera spokeswoman said that the release of Opera 10.5 was scheduled to coincide with the launch of the browser ballot and added that "We have had more focus and more developers on this release than most previous releases. Various components have been in the making for a long time." 

Opera 10.5 web browser, which was recently launched by the company, is being hailed as the fastest web browser available for Microsoft's Windows operating system platform.

It offers several new functions including the ability to activate 'Private browsing' on a particular tab instead of the whole browser window.