Software giant Microsoft claimed that the Internet Explorer (IE) 9, the newest iteration of company’s Web browser, racked up 2.35 million downloads in the first 24 hours of its availability.

The figure is impressive, especially when we take into account that only Windows Vista and Windows 7 users can download the new Web browser. The figure supports the expectation that the IE9 could help the software company to regain the lost share of the Web browser market.

Ryan Gavin, senior director for IE at Microsoft, said, “We want to thank everyone around the world for downloading IE9 and the enthusiastic reception.”

IE9 features a design that is less cluttered with icons, toolbars and controls. It brings many enhancements such as a slimmed-down interface, full compatibility with Web standards like HTML5, support for hardware acceleration and better privacy controls.

Some experts reported that they discovered a bug in the IE9's do-not-track technology, but Microsoft said that the reported bug was in reality a feature. Microsoft said it added a feature, called Tracking Protection Lists (TPLs), to the new offering. Users can make use of one or more lists to prevent certain websites and ad networks from tracking their online behavior.

Shares in Microsoft gained 0.97 per cent to $25.02, in afternoon trading on Friday.