When Microsoft unwraps Internet Explorer 10 in 2012 with fanfare and festivities at headquarters in Redmond, Washington, it will be showing off a browser with some new ideas on how to present modern Web content along with one other borrowed from the competition.

One of the major new features of IE 10 is its “HTML5” support initiative. On Windows 8 it is divided into two editions with different user interfaces: a traditional desktop application (by enabling Enhanced Protected Mode) and a Metro application without support plug-ins. The browser has a built-in Adobe Flash Player. New features: Adobe Flash integration, User interface, and Flip Ahead.

Internet Explorer 10 has expanded search capabilities and allows users to customize their search options. In one sense, these options presented from within the browser interface make the browser more resemble a portal, since those sites often offer a range of search choices. For finding a Web page, users can choose from among eight different search services: Bing, Google, Yandex, etc.

Another feature reported last month that Microsoft declined to confirm is tighter integration between IE 10 and Outlook.com, Microsoft’s free Web-based email site. IE’s pushing Outlook.com so aggressively comes as no surprise, as Microsoft makes big plans to offer new services through the site, which has more than 30 million registered users. Microsoft plans to add applications including calendaring, text file storage, and others.