Firefox for Windows 8 Metro development officially starts

Mozilla has announced that development of its Firefox web browser for Windows 8 and its Metro user interface has officially started, with Mozilla asking for help to create the browser.

In February, Mozilla announced that it would be developing a version of its Firefox web browser that will work on Windows 8, both in its desktop version and with the new Metro style user interface. At the time, Mozilla said that the Metro version of Firefox would require a lot more development work than the desktop version, saying it would need "a new Firefox front end and system integration points."

Today, Mozilla programmer Brian Bondy revealed that the actual development work for Firefox on Windows 8 Metro has officially begun (actually, he said the team started work on Monday).

Bondy goes over some interesting tidbits of information that the team has already discovered while making the browser. One is that if Firefox is not selected in Windows 8 to be the default web browser, it can't be used in the Metro UI. This was apparently a decision made by Microsoft, for some unknown reason.

Bondy says that Mozilla will mainly be using the Windows Runtime C++ Template Library to create Firefox for Windows 8 Metro. He also is asking for others to help pitch in on this new project, stating, "Please sync up with us in #windev on IRC or email me directly at netzen at gmail.com."