Internet Explorer has regained nearly 3 percentage points of the browser market since July, while Firefox has dropped 1.4 points in the same period, a Dutch Web metrics vendor said Monday.

The numbers from OneStat contradict data released last week by U.S.-based Net Applications, which said that Microsoft Corp.'s IE continued to slip and Firefox kept up its sure-but-steady gains.

According to OneStat, IE's share of the global browser market at the beginning of October was 85.9 percent, several points higher than Net Applications' 82.1 percent for the Microsoft browser at the end of September. Likewise, OneStat pegged Firefox at 11.5 percent, while Net Applications had it at 12.5 percent.

The biggest difference between OneStat's and Net Applications' data, however, was for Apple Computer's Safari browser. The Dutch company said Safari accounted for only 1.6 percent of all browsers used, less than half as much as Net Applications' 3.5 percent.

Since July, IE has gained 2.8 percent, said OneStat, and Firefox lost 1.4 percent. Safari, meanwhile, dropped 0.2 points in the three-month span. Net Applications, on the other hand, claimed IE had slipped 2.3 percent in the same period, and Firefox had gained 1.7 percent. Safari, said Net Applications had put on 0.35 percent.

Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox has the largest share of browser users in Germany (33.4 percent), Australia (25.6 percent), and Italy (21.6 percent), said OneStat. In the U.S. only, IE accounts for 80.8 percent, Firefox 14.9 percent, and Safari 3.4 percent.