Google to IE Users: Try Firefox

Google on Wednesday rolled out the first third-party advertisement on its traditionally spartan homepage -- a link to download Firefox with the Google Toolbar. The promotion appears underneath Google's search box and is currently visible only to Internet Explorer users.

The search engine's ties to Firefox are nothing new; the company has hired a number of the browser's developers and has begun paying affiliates $1 for each user they get to install Firefox with Google Toolbar. The Mozilla corporation behind Firefox also makes most of its revenues from a search partnership with Google.