Microsoft has announced the Metro UI version of Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8 will not support plug-in based content.

This means when users browse the web using IE10 on the touch capable Metro UI they will only be able to view content based on HTML 5 and not Flash based content.

Microsoft claims the IE10 on Windows 8 Metro UI will be free of all plug-ins. Flash requires a plug-in to run on a web browser, however.

To view Flash based videos and games, Microsoft said users will have to switch to the old-fashioned user interface on Windows 8 as the upcoming operating system will come with 2 UI modes, one Metro UI for tablets and the other one for traditional laptops and desktops, which looks pretty much like Windows 7.

“Running Metro style IE plug-in free improves battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers. Plug-ins were important early on in the web’s history. But the web has come a long way since then with HTML5. Providing compatibility with legacy plug-in technologies would detract from, rather than improve, the consumer experience of browsing in the Metro style UI,” Microsoft said in a blog post.

Source: Erica Thinesen