Safaro 5.0.1 also enables extensions for the browser, with Apple also releasing a gallery with some of the early Safari 5 extensions.

Apple has also released a security bulletin explaining the vulnerabilities that have been fixed.

Safari 5.0.1 can be downloaded from the Apple website, while extensions can be downloaded from the new Safari Extensions Gallery.

Apple’s Safari Extensions Gallery may be nearing launch, with Apple today sending out an email to registered developers reminding them to submit their Safari 5 extensions for inclusion in the gallery.

We’ll soon be launching the Safari Extensions Gallery, a new destination that provides you with an opportunity to increase the visibility of your Safari extension beyond your website.

The Safari Extensions Gallery will feature selected extensions that offer an innovative user experience. And a one-click installation process will allow users to seamlessly install extensions from a developer’s website without ever having to leave the Gallery.

Have your extension considered for the Safari Extensions Gallery. Submit your extension download URL and supporting metadata today.

While some extensions for the browser are currently available, Safari 5 users must manually enable extensions for them to work in the browser. A comprehensive list of early Safari 5 extensions can be found in the Safari Extensions blog.

Interested developers can submit their Safari 5 extensions at the Safari Dev Center.

In response to the recent release of Safari 5, Microsoft has released a video demonstrating the performance difference between the hardware acceleration found in Internet Explorer 9 and Safari 5.

“Since the release of the first Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview at MIX back in March and the second in May, we’ve shown a lot of demos of IE9 with other browsers. Today, Apple announced and released Safari 5. We figured we would show IE9 and Safari 5 together running some of the demos from the Internet Explorer 9 Test Drive website. Watch the Frames Per Second (FPS) Counter” wrote Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc.

From the video it’s clear that IE9 is a long way ahead of Safari 5, with the first benchmark showing IE9 scoring an impressive 50 frames per second, while Safari 5 only manages 9.

LeBlanc also revealed that IE9 Developer Preview has been downloaded over 1,000,000 times. Rumors are also appearing suggesting we may see a beta release very soon. We will keep you updated.

With the release of Safari 5 yesterday, we are already starting to see some extensions. To use these extensions however, users must first turn this ‘pre-release’ feature on.

Doing so fortunately is very easy. Navigate to the Preferences window (File->Preferences on a Mac, or Edit->Preferences on a PC), click the Advanced tab, and tick the Show Develop menu in menu bar option. Finally click the Develop menu and click Enable Extensions. You can now install extensions in Safari.

Some early stand outs include Reload Button, AdBlock for Safari, Gmail Checker, and Safari Bit.ly Shortener.

A comprehensive list of Safari extensions can be found in the Safari Extensions blog.

In a release that had been hinted at in late May, Apple has released Safari 5 to the world, for both Mac and Windows users.

Performance of the updated browser has seen Apple’s Nitro JavaScript engine speed increase by 30% over its predecessor. Safari 5 new DNS pre-fetching and improved caching which helps web pages load faster.

HTML5 support has also been improved, with support for over 17 new HTML5 tags and features. HTML video now supports full-screen and closed captions.

Perhaps the most impressive feature of Safari 5 is the new Safari Reader. This nifty feature removes ads and other distractions from online articles. Safari 5 automatically detects when you are reading an article, and can be activated by clicking the new reader button which will appear in the address bar.

Most pleasing to current add-on and extension users is that Safari 5 will now support user generated extensions, which are expected to launch in an online Apple gallery in the coming weeks.

Apple’s Safari 5 can be downloaded from the Safari website for both Mac and Windows.