We rely on the features in our browsers to perform common Internet tasks such as moving from page to page and printing Web pages. Sometimes those features come up short.

Have you ever tried to print a Web page and had the right margin cut off or been presented with an extra page for only one or two lines of text? Well, help is on the way for these and other Web problems. New versions of some of the major Web browsers will be beneficial to surfers around the world.

Microsoft recently announced a new version of Internet Explorer, its much-used Web browser. Internet Explorer 6 is almost 4 years old, which is ancient in computer terms. So this new version has been long in coming and fans anxiously await its final delivery.

Internet Explorer 7.0 is now in public beta, which means that you can download it at www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/downloads and try it at your convenience. It also means that this version is still in testing, so it may have some minor bugs and may not yet have all the features that will be available in the final version.

Internet Explorer 7 finally adds a tabbed interface, which has been available in other browsers for years. The tabs allow you to keep several Web pages open at once and to easily switch between them.

This new browser version will also have an Orphan Control feature, which may “save a lot of trees” by minimizing the number of sheets of paper when printing Web pages. This feature will automatically detect when there are only a few words or lines on the last page and will squeeze that text into the previous page.

Internet Explorer 7 will also have a Shrink to Fit feature that will prevent right margins from being cut off. These three features alone will put a smile on the faces of many Internet Explorer users.

The new Internet Explorer will make using the History and Favorites functions easier. The final version will also have a Phishing Filter and a new Protected Mode to prevent spyware and malware from hurting you or your computer.

The final version will be available sometime this year. It is expected to remain a free download.

Other browser developers are not sitting on the sidelines. Opera 9.0, which is available at www.opera.com is also now in public beta. Opera is a free browser that has been around since 1994 and is very stable.

Opera already has tabbed browsing, pop-up blocking, integrated search and a content blocker. This new version improves all of these features and adds Widgets, which are small programs that float on top of your browser windows. There are already more than 50 available, and more are being added every day.

Its nifty little programs will let you keep the weather, a clock, calculator, stock prices, the latest headlines and much, much more within easy viewing.

Firefox, my current browser of choice, also has a new version in the oven. Version 2.0 is now in Alpha (pre-beta) testing.

All of these browsers will incorporate more security, which is also a blessing for the end users. I have already tried the new versions of Internet Explorer and Opera, and both offer better usability and easier surfing.

As these reach mainstream, consumers are sure to be smiling. The biggest challenge may well be which one to choose.