A blank tab however is not useful at all. A better solution would be to open another website or service in the blank tab, something that is quick to load, is usually the right choice and does not delay the process for to long if the user wants to do something different with the tab.

A tab is usually created when the user wants to open a new url or search for something. He could do CTRL T and enter the url that he wants to visit. What if he uses a search engine most of the time that way? What if the search engine could be loaded automatically when a new tab is created?

That is the basic principle of the New Tab URL extension for Firefox. The user can select a default url that opens when a new blank tab is created. This can the his homepage, the current page, the blank (default) page or a custom url.

The custom url is probably the only option that makes sense in the options. The user could pick Google, Yahoo, a specialized search engine, his favorite message board or online shop to open whenever he creates a new tab in Firefox.