After the mobile world got a new king in Korean tech giant Samsung, the browser realm also is ruled by a new face. According to StatCounter, Google’s Chrome web browser has finally managed to unseat Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) to become the world’s top internet browser for the first time for a full calendar month during May.

StatCounter Global Stats stated that Chrome surpassed IE as the most used web browser for the full month of May, according to data gathered from more than 15 billion page views. Chrome achieved this latest feat after first being the top browser for a full day back in March.

Google’s desktop browser managed to obtain 32.43% of the worldwide desktop browser market share compared to 32.12% for IE and 25.55% for Mozilla’s Firefox.

StatCounter said that a battle royal has broken out between Chrome, IE and Firefox. Aodhan Cullen, CEO of StatCounter explains: “While attention has recently been focused on the battle between Chrome and IE, not-for-profit Mozilla’s Firefox with its loyal membership base should not be underestimated.”

Cullen pointed out that it was an upswing of more than 0.6% in Firefox usage from April to May 2012 (at the expense of IE) that helped to push Chrome into pole position. Chrome has shown tremendous growth over the last few years, going from zero to market leader on a global basis in under four years.

That said, while IE has ceded the top spot to Chrome for the month of May 2012, Microsoft’s newest browser version (IE9) is performing well, especially since it remains the dominant browser in the US and the UK, whilst Firefox is also holding its own.

“The browser wars are back with a vengeance,” Cullen concluded. “This time there are three major players competing for the top spot but, ultimately, the real winner will be the end user who can look forward to more choice and innovation as a result of this increased competition.”

In other browser related news, Opera Software made the latest version of its popular mobile browser available to almost any mobile phone with a internet connection.