Microsoft has just sent out media invites to an Internet Explorer 9 event on February 10th. The announcement will take place in San Francisco.

Earlier today, screen shots of IE 9 build number .6018 began surfacing on the web which indicates that someone outside of Microsoft now has a copy of that build. It was expected that an RC build was going to be released today, according to our good pal Tom Warren, but it not looks as if Microsoft is going to turn this launch into a major media event.

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“Members from the Internet Explorer team (and some special guests) will be visiting San Francisco in two weeks to share some important news. I know it’s an extremely busy news week already, but we’re hoping you can join us.”

Microsoft is gearing up for the launch of IE 9 as it attempts to remain competitive in the browser marketplace. For Microsoft, IE 9 represents its latest attempt to remain the browser king while it fights off contenders Firefox, Chrome and a host of others. If Microsoft does not find a way to stop users from leaving the platform, its marketshare will continue to drop until it is no longer the market leader.