The Firefox browser should not be installed with Windows on new PCs as there is no evidence that Microsoft's practice of bundling Internet Explorer with its operating system is anticompetitive.

This is according to Firefox architect Mike Connor, who told PC Pro that he personally would not be in favour of such a move and that he thought Opera's claims over Microsoft's allegedly unfair monopoly of the browser market were "provably false".

"As people become aware there's an alternative, you don't end up in that [monopoly] situation. You have to be perceptibly better [than Internet Explorer]," he commented.

Last month, the European commission (EC) sent a statement of objections to Microsoft listing its issues with the bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows, suggesting that the practice not only harms competition but hinders innovation within the browser market and reduces customer choice - as well as affecting the website design sector.

Mitchell Baker, chairperson of Mozilla, said in a blog post last week that she had "absolutely no doubt" that the EC's concerns were valid.

According to Net Applications, Internet Explorer accounted for 67.55 per cent of the browser market in January, compared with Firefox's 21.53 per cent.