In a post on the official Google enterprise blog, Google announced that it will be pulling support for Google Apps and the Google Sites Wiki for IE6 users.

According to Google the web has evolved over the past ten years and the internet is no longer about simple text pages but about rich, interactive applications. In order to ensure your business gets the best possible internet usage and the most powerful apps you should upgrade your browsers. Chrome was not officially suggested, but it's clear where Google is going with this.

The most natural upgrade for an IE6 user is going to be to IE8, Microsoft's latest version of Internet Explorer. It's unlikely that many of the people who are still using IE6 will jump from that to Firefox, although no doubt there will be a few conversions. More than likely however, Google is going to win over more new converts thanks both to its current advertising campaigns and its dismissal of Internet Explorer (6). Some believe those who do make the switch to Chrome will sacrifice a lot in terms of personal privacy, although it's unlikely most will ever realize this.

According to Net Application, an internet research firm, IE6 is still used by around 20 per cent of all internet users. Google's announcement will no doubt shake up the browser market although it doesn't stop there. As of the start of March Google will no longer be supporting IE7, Firefox 3, Safari 3 or Chrome 4.