But Netscape's employees and the browser's source code did not simply disappear.

ECONOMIST: Face value

When Netscape released the source code of its web browser in March 1998, it wanted to involve other companies.

ECONOMIST: Computer programming

The browser's user interface is based on the open-source Chromium code.

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In short, Adobe has embraced the open web, contributing input and code to both WC3 web standards and WebKit open source web browser engine.

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Like Firefox's, Chrome's source code is free for anybody to change and improve, and even for rival browser-makers to incorporate.

ECONOMIST: The world wide web: The second browser war | The

Out of the ashes (and source code) of Netscape, Mozilla was born, eventually leading to the release of the Firefox browser.

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