According to
ComputerWorld, just-leaked build of Windows 7 lets users remove Internet
Explorer. The move might have been prompted by recent charges by the European
Union that Microsoft has stifled browser competition by bundling IE with its
operating system, the bloggers speculated. According to postings on
Chris' Repository of Knowledge and AeroXperience, the 7048 build of Windows
7 -- a version that has not been released to the public but is available as a
pirated copy on file-sharing sites -- includes an option to eliminate Internet
Explorer 8 (IE8). Both blogs posted a screenshot of Windows 7's "Windows
Features" dialog box, which included an option to turn off IE8. "There is a
catch: For now, this only seems to wipe the actual executable running Internet
Explorer 8 (iexplore.exe)," said Bryant Zadegan in an entry on AeroXperience.