Apple Inc. launched a version of its Safari web browser for Windows-based PCs onMonday, pitting it against Microsoft Corp's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox.

"What we've got here is the most innovative browser in the world and the most powerful browser in the world," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said during his keynote speech at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference.

Safari, which was released a few years ago for Apple's Macintosh computers, has captured about 5 per cent of the world's market share for Internet browsers with more than 18 million users, Jobs said.

Internet Explorer is the predominant browser with a 78 per cent share, while Firefox has rapidly climbed to gain about 15 per cent of the market, he said. Like the other web browsers, Safari is available at no charge.

Jobs claimed Safari performs twice as fast as its competitors.

Never one to disappoint his audience, the iconic chief executive — in his final highlight of his 1.5 hour speech — also pulled out an iPhone and told the thousands of developers before him that the highly anticipated hybrid smart phone and iPod will run Safari.

That means, Jobs said, that any application meant to run on the Safari browser for Macs would also be fully accessible and compatible with the iPhone.

AP