A while ago, the Norwegian company Opera Software revolutionised web browsing on mobile devices with the Opera Mini browser (previous discussion: Opera mini - the platform).

Opera just released the newest version of their web browser, Opera 9.0, which is a step forward in browser technology. They’ve implemented an ad-blocking feature that is easier to use than the equivalent Firefox extension, improved search engine integration and integrated a bittorrent client so that downloading torrent files looks and feels no different than normal files.

For those not using ad-blocking at all, the picture to the right shows an example of its benefits. One of Iceland’s most visited websites is an outlet from a prominent newspaper, Mbl.is. The website’s numerous animated ads reduce the site’s readability. The two screen shots above (check out the bigger version) show the site with and without ad-blocking.

To integrate a search engine, right click on a search box and choose “Create search”. Choose a keyword (such as “w” for Wikipedia) and click ok. Next time you want to search Wikipedia, just type “w [search term]” in the address bar and voila, you’re taken straight to the search results. A great click-saver.

For more news and reviews on Opera 9, check out comments on Slashdot or the coverage on CNet News.