Opera Software will no longer force users of the free PC version of its Web browser, Opera, to view advertising banners.
From Tuesday, the company will give away an unrestricted version of the software for use on personal computers. Previously, Opera Software offered a browser with no advertising banners for a fee, while the free version displayed advertising banners in the browser window -- in addition to any advertising contained on Web sites being visited.
The free software is now available for download, in 20 languages, from http://www.opera.com/.
The company still offers other software and services for a fee, however. Versions of the browser for mobile phones and other non-PC platforms are available for Euro 29 (AU$46), while for Euro 24 a year the company also offers an e-mail support service for the Windows, Mac OS X and Linux versions of its browser.