A small Norwegian software company says with a level playing field it can <A HREF="http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1397,2238229,00.asp?kc=BARSS02129TX1K0000533">take on mighty Microsoft in a new battle of the browsers</A> because it has a better product, picking up where the now-defunct Netscape left off in the 1990s. Opera, which like Microsoft and Firefox manufactures Web browsers, says the humble browser has become increasingly more important to consumers as the years have passed.