Google launched on Tuesday a beta version of its browser for Windows, called Google Chrome, in more than 100 countries.
With the Web browser, Google wants to be in a better position to compete with the likes of Internet Explorer and Firefox.
This was seen as yet another salvo in Google's intensifying battle with Microsoft to dominate not only what people do on the Web but also how they get there.
Microsoft recently released a beta version of Internet Explorer that makes it easier to block ads from Google and others.
Google Chrome offers features that make it easier and faster to browse the Web. It will also be an open source product, meaning anyone can modify the software code.
The move is considered audacious given Microsoft's dominance with the Explorer browser. It also could spell trouble for Firefox, a free browser that is gaining in popularity. Mozilla, the nonprofit organization that runs Firefox, has benefited from engineering help and money from Google. Just last week, Google and Mozilla extended their partnership through 2011.
The browser, which Google says was built from scratch, has been in the works for two years. It is intended as a "modern platform for Web pages and applications" that can run faster and be more responsive, according to Google sources.
By improving the reliability of such online services, Chrome could mark another step in the browser's drive to supersede the computer operating system in importance, said Matt Rosoff, analyst with Directions on Microsoft, a research firm focused on Microsoft products and strategy.
Source: Xinhua
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