The end of Internet Explorer as we know it?

First the German, now French and Australian governments have all joined in urging their citizens to stop using Microsoft Internet Explorer after it discovered major security leaks which may have helped exploit Google’s GMail system in China recently.
For years IE has become a bain in a web developers life, IE6 in particular has caused many headaches by seemingly randomly choosing which W3C standards to implement. In recent years this has begun to change with Firefox becoming more widespread and Google’s Chrome being heavily advertised not just on the Internet but on roadside billboards, but with Microsoft bundling IE with every version of Windows many users are unaware of the choices or unsure of how to switch browser.
Worse still are the users who are unable to change because IE is forced upon them by their school or business IT system. Are these systems opening themselves up to more attacks or do they boost their security in other places?
Microsoft released information regarding the problem which affects all versions of the browser with the exception of version 5.01 on Windows 2000. Microsoft’s German offices reacted to the Governments statement by saying "These were not attacks against general users or consumers. There is no threat to the general user, consequently we do not support this warning.", they also advised users to install the latest browser and use a high security zone.
Microsoft have been facing accusations of creating a monopoly on the browser market by including Internet Explorer with every release of Windows but could these various governments calling for users to try other browsers really swing the balance?