Microsoft says it will begin a countdown to the death of decade-old browser Internet Explorer 6.

In a statement made late last week, director of cloud strategy Steve Clayton said users of the service will need to update to a newer version, and that the software giant will watch as more users abandon the program.

"C'mon IE6, it's time for a modern web, so nice knowing you and all that but… buhbye," Clayton said on the blog.

The company has launched a dedicated site to the IE6 countdown, which claims that 12% of users are surfing on IE6, smartcompany.com.au reported.

The site itself isn’t actually setting a time for the IE6 browser to be done away with, but it wants users to encourage others to stop using the out-dated program. The site will monitor the percentage of users using IE6 until it drops below 1%.

Web and software developers have called for the death of IE6 for some time – programming for such an out-dated browser puts a considerable strain on time and resources.