Netscape tool integrates IE

On the heels of yesterday's beta launch of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape Communications today will release a tool for integrating IE with Netscape's Netcenter portal site.

Netscape has spent the year hawking its portal and tying its Navigator browser closely to it. With today's release, dubbed "TuneUp for IE," the company wants to let users tie that portal to Microsoft's rival browser.

TuneUp, announced last week, is an ActiveX control that will make IE act more like Navigator insofar as it interacts with Netcenter.

It gives IE users access to recent Navigator additions, including the "Smart Browsing" feature, which lets users run Netscape-branded searches in the browser's Web address bar. Another Netcenter-related feature is the Alexa Internet-powered "What's Related" list of sites relevant to pages accessed.

TuneUp will let users access Netcenter's personalization section from the toolbar. It also will provide access to Netscape WebMail, Netcenter's software updating service, and the portal's address and member directories.

Users installing TuneUp will be able to choose from among these features.