Netscape Navigator, one of the first web browsers has finally been dropped by AOL.

Security patches and active support for the current version, Netscape 9, will only continue until 1 February this year. After this date AOL will urge users to adopt Firefox, developed by its not-for-profit offshoot, the Mozilla Foundation.

The formal announcement from AOL which came at the end of December ends the years of struggle by AOL to regain the market share lost by Netscape to Microsoft's Internet Explorer browsers.

However, Netscape, which was once used by over 80 per cent of internet users, failed to regain the ground it lost and its share was down to 0.6 per cent in December 2007, compared to the 77 per cent Internet Explorer boasts.

In a formal statement on the official Netscape blog, AOL said: "While internal groups within AOL have invested a great deal of time and energy in attempting to revive Netscape Navigator, these efforts have not been successful in gaining market share from Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

"Recently, support for the Netscape browser has been limited to a handful of engineers tasked with creating a skinned version of Firefox with a few extensions. Given AOL's current business focus and the success the Mozilla Foundation has had in developing critically acclaimed products, we feel it's the right time to end development of Netscape-branded browsers, hand the reins fully to Mozilla and encourage Netscape users to adopt Firefox."

Mozilla's Firefox web browser currently has around 16 per cent of the market share. Security patches for Navigator 9 and all previous versions will come to an end on 1 February along with active product support.

The Netscape.com portal will still be available, and the browser may still used and downloaded indefinitely. Nostalgia buffs can also give Firefox a Netscape look.