Munich - Apple's new browser promises to be significantly faster than its predecessors.

According to Apple, Safari 4 will be able to run JavaScript, a feature of many websites, faster than n Safari 3. Indeed, the company says the speed will increase by 4.2 times.

Apple also boasts that its new browser, now available in a beta version, will make the competition look positively slow. HTML websites will load seven times faster on the new Safari than on Internet Explorer 7 and up to three times faster than on Firefox 3, it added.

The browser's new functions include Full History Search, which allows a computer user to sift through headlines, web addresses or complete texts of recently visited sites. Top Sites provides an overview of regularly visited websites, while Cover Flow makes it easier to search through the browser's history and bookmarks.

The free beta version of the new Safari is available for Mac OS X and Windows and can be downloaded at www.apple.com/safari .