The big rumour going around today is that after Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft will be putting the browser's engine to rest. This has started further discussion as to what engine will be it's successor for IE9 with some far fetched suggestions that Microsoft may adopt WebKit - this I seriously doubt. In the same article that initially reported the rumour they also mention that they may use Microsoft Research's Gazelle engine due to it's amazingly tight security (allegedly). This would make far more sense, and if a new engine for IE is in the works then this one is bound to be their solution. I can't imagine Microsoft ever adopting another companies browser engine.
Slashdot also mention that one of the major deciding points for Microsoft will be compatibility with ActiveX components - obviously any engine produced by Microsoft will have the best support for these!
