Expect to see a lot of "broken" Internet retail industry Web sites now that Microsoft has released the lastest version of its brower, Internet Explorer 8, Web design experts say (http://www.informationweek.com/news/internet/browsers/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208401437).

The reason? Microsoft completely overhauled the code in its browser with its March 19, 2009 release, a move that will distort the appearance of many Web sites designed for earlier versions of Internet Explorer.

Specifically, the new browser "may cause content written for previous versions of Internet Explorer to display differently than intended," says Nick MacKechnie, a senior technical account manager for Microsoft.

Indeed, initial news reports last week on I.E. 8's release validate MacKechnie's warning. (http://topnews.us/content/24500-what-response-microsoft-getting-its-internet-explorer-8).

And while the disruption probably would have been worse in the browser's heyday, design carnage is still expected to be substantial. Internet Explorer still dominates the market, with installs on more than two thirds (68%) of all PCs as of December 2008, and competitors still playing catch-up, according to market watcher Net Applications (http://www.netapplications.com). Firefox, the world's next most popular browser, only had a 21% market share as of December 2008.

"What's going to happen is that a lot of sites coded for I.E. will not work in I.E. 8," resulting in company Web sites that will "look wonky,"says Jeffrey Zeldman, author of "Designing With Web Standards."

Joe Dysart