One in five Europeans is currently using Mozilla's Firefox web browser, according to new research from French internet monitoring firm XiTi Monitor. 

Finland leads the way with nearly 40 per cent of computer users choosing the open source browser, while the UK languishes near the bottom with just 11 per cent.

Germany and Slovenia are the only other countries with over 30 per cent market share for the Firefox browser.

Europe leads the world in the use of Firefox, with an average user rate of 20.11 per cent. Australasia is in second place at 18.6 per cent, followed by North America at 15.88 per cent.

Firefox is least popular in South America, where barely one in 20 people use the software.

The survey also found that Firefox users have been quick to upgrade following the recent release of version 1.5. Over 40 per cent now use the latest version since its release two months ago.