Internet Explorer 8 will adhere to the same standards as other browsers, officials at Microsoft confirmed when they gave testers and technology reporters a sneak peak of the new application.

For many web developers, Microsoft's decision to make IE 8 conform to standards used by other browsers will go a long way toward making the web work better.

Microsoft's current browser, IE 7, came under fire from some web developers because it handles web page code differently than Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari and other browsers. The lack of standards between browsers confounded developers and forced some to create two different versions of the same website.

According to an Associated Press report, the browser also includes features designed to funnel users toward certain sites. The features include "Send to Facebook," "Map with Live Search" or "Define with Dictionary.com."

In October, Microsoft, which serves ads for Facebook, invested $240 million in the social network.  

Map with Live Search is Microsoft's answer to Google Maps.