Microsoft is retiring its Internet Explorer web browser after 27 years.

Microsoft will end support for most versions of its Internet Explorer 11 browser on June 15 after announcing more than a year ago that it would be removed from most versions of Windows 10 this year.

Internet Explorer was first released in 1995 as part of the add-on package for the Windows 95 operating system.

With later versions, the browser was available as a free download or in service packs, and included in the original equipment manufacturer service releases of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows.

Microsoft discontinued new feature development of the browser in 2016 in favour of its new browser Microsoft Edge.

Since Internet Explorer is a Windows component and is included in long-term life-cycle versions of Windows such as Windows Server 2019, it will continue to receive security updates until at least 2029.

Internet Explorer was once the most widely used web browser, attaining a peak of about 95 per cent usage share by 2003.

However, its usage share has since declined with the launch of Firefox (2004) and Google Chrome (2008), and with the growing popularity of mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS that do not support Internet Explorer.