The third version of the popular browser Firefox will be available for download as soon as Tuesday 17th June, according to a note posted on the Mozilla Developer News weblog.

Mozilla has done a lot of work for this version and Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 34 months.

As a result Mozilla claims the new Firefox is more secure, more stable, speedier, and easier to use. Also, as you can expect many additional features.

As the security is a sensible issue for all users, Firefox 3 has added some interesting features. For example in the new version you can click the site favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site you are visiting. The identity verification is prominently displayed and easier to understand.

The new browser also integrates malware protection, a system that will warn users when they arrive at sites which are known to install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware. Also it has a new Web Forgery Protection page, thanks to which the content of pages suspected as web forgeries is no longer shown.

Mozilla also improved the add-on update security and those add-ons that provide updates in an insecure manner will be disabled.

Beside all these security features Firefox 3 offers integration with anti-virus programs, and compliance with Vista's Parental Control settings.

Firefox 3 has also a number of ease of use enhancements. For example, it offers an easier password management (an information bar replaces the old password dialog so you can now save passwords after a successful login), simplified add-on installation, new Download Manager, full page zoom, tab scrolling and quickmenu and text selection improvements: Multiple text selections can be made with Ctrl/Cmd; Double-click drag selects in "word-by-word" mode; Triple-clicking selects a paragraph.

But one of the best features is the resumable downloading: users can now resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting the network connection.

On the interface side, Firefox 3 has introduced a simpler management of bookmarks. For example it has a Star button with which you can: quickly add bookmarks from the location bar with a single click; a second click lets you file and tag them and Tags, that will let you associate keywords with your bookmarks to sort them by topic.

Mozilla aims for more than just a good Firefox 3.0, it aims for a Guinness World Record, all of course with the users’ help. With the motto “Set a Guinness World Record, Enjoy a Better Web,” Mozilla started earlier this month a campaign with one clear mission: to become the most downloaded software in 24 hours. Let’s wish them good luck.