Microsoft Corp. stated that it plans to discontinue its Internet Explorer browser, adding to the digital scrap heap, a product once at the center of one of the tech industry’s biggest battles.The software behemoth stated on Wednesday that its Internet Explorer 11 desktop application, the current version, will no longer be supported starting on June 15 of next year for certain versions of the company’s Windows software. Microsoft browser push now is centered on Edge, which it initiated in 2015, and shares underlying technology with Chrome.Internet Explorer has gradually withered from prominence as rival browsers such as Chrome from Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit and Safari from Apple Inc. have won audiences. Internet Explorer had less than 2% of the global browser market for desktop computers in April, according to web analytics firm Statcounter. Chrome had more than 65% of that market, ahead of Safari’s roughly 10%. Microsoft Edge had 8%, according to the data.