If the Firefox web browser app were a automobile , it would be in the garage right now being souped up by an anxious grouping of gear heads .

When Firefox 3.0 is released later this yr , the undefendable - rootage browser app is likely to contain a innkeeper of new characteristic , including offline support for Web software and new bookmark and lookup features . Mozilla released the 2nd alpha version of Firefox 3.0 earlier this calendar month .

While the final feature set has n’t been make up one’s mind , Firefox 3.0 will also incorporate elements for its 4.0 release and beyond , say Mike Schroepfer , vice President of the United States for engineering forMozilla , during a stop in London on Tuesday . The internet browser is due out in the second half of the year .

“ What we ’re trying to do with all of these things is set the foundation , ” Schroepfer said .

Perhaps most exciting could be Firefox ’s ability to support writing an tocopherol - mail in , for model , Gmail while offline , with the data post later when a user is connect to the cyberspace again . Ultimately , Mozilla applied scientist are aiming for an desegregation between the web web browser and vane - establish service that is as smooth running as a desktop software , Schroepfer said .

So far , engineers have made Firefox work withZimbra , an open - source e - mail , electronic messaging and VoIP ( voice over Internet Protocol ) app . With a bit of code from Google and Microsoft , it would be possible to integrate with Gmail and Hotmail and other e - mail table service .

To do offline support , locomotive engineer have overcome the hurdle of how to store data topically on the computer , Schroepfer state . The feature will make it into Firefox 3.0 , although the user interface is still under ontogenesis , he say .

Other change could come in to “ bookmarks ” and “ history , ” two features that have seen relatively little innovation , he allege . Mozilla would wish to make a subprogram where bookmarks could be mechanically sorted establish on popularity and frequence rather than the stable display now .

Firefox 3.0 will also have a small , embedded database — SQL Lite — that will eventually be used for full - textbook indexing of the web web browser ’s “ history . ” user could explore for images and text and see the cached page . The feature , however , may not make it into the 3.0 sack , he said .

“ The vantage of the database is that we can search your cache , ” Schroepfer said .

Most importantly , Firefox has to be flying and standards compliant , he said . Some user have kvetch about Firefox blow up processing power because ofadd - onsor extension , a democratic panorama of Firefox where modest computer program can be download and used into the internet browser to add together fresh routine .

But extensions sometimes tax system resources , in part because it ’s often part - clip hobbyists doing the cryptography , Schroepfer said .

Mozilla will soon pose up a shared library of tested code that extension author can download and use , Schroepfer said . Mozilla also relaunched its university extension site , cutting back on the figure of extensions list so first - clock time users do n’t surcharge their browsers and dampen their experience .

In a few weeks , word forums will also be gear up up for developers to exchange feedback , since code writers sometimes do n’t know of the trouble , he said .

Firefox 4.0 will bear the JavaScript 2 language , now under development in part by Mozilla ’s Chief Technology Officer Brendan Eich and the ECMA International standards physical structure , Schroepfer said . The idea behind the JavaScript revamp is to make high - execution Web applications programme easier to write and assemble for people with less coding expertness , he said .

“ It ’s less about making it possible and more about making it easy , ” Schroepfer read .