NERDS the world over are rejoicing at news they're smarter than their mum.

IMPORTANT UPDATE



The study reported in this story was an elaborate hoax.

Please read our apology here.

For years, computer geeks have taken pride in using a "real" browser like Firefox or Opera to surf the web, while n00bs stick with simple old Internet Explorer.

Now a new study has backed up all that boasting by finding that ditching Microsoft's default browser really is the smart choice.

In an online IQ test of 100,000 people, AptiQuant Psychometric Consulting found that users of alternate browsers were likely to have a higher IQ than Internet Explorer users.

"It comes out pretty clear that Internet Explorer users scored lower than average on the IQ tests," said AptiQuant.

"Chrome, Firefox and Safari users had just a teeny bit higher than average IQ scores. And users of Camino, Opera and IE with Chrome Frame had exceptionally higher IQ levels."

Out of all the Internet Explorer versions, "subjects using IE 8 (fared) a little better".

To carry out the study, AptiQuant offered a free online Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (IV) test for four weeks, and then correlated the results with people's browser choice.

You can see the results below in red. The results in blue are from a similar study in 2006. Taken together the studies suggest people with a higher IQ have moved away from Internet Explorer over the past five years.

Average IQ score by browser. Graph: AptiQuant Psychometric Consulting

Update!

AptiQuant chief executive Leonard Howard has issued a statement after receiving "hate mail" from Internet Explorer users.

"I just want to make it clear that the report released by my company did not suggest that if you use IE that means you have a low IQ," he said.

"What it really says is that if you have a low IQ then there are high chances that you use Internet Explorer."

Read Mr Howard's statement in full here