Google Inc has developed its own Web browser in a challenge to Microsoft Corp’s dominant Internet Explorer.
A test version of new software, named Google Chrome, was set to be available for download yesterday in more than 100 countries, Google announced on Monday.
The company said its aim was to deliver a faster, more user-friendly and safer browser.
Web browsers are programs that allow computer users to navigate the Internet. If Chrome is well-received, Google — which is already the top earner from online advertising and also offers programs and services to virtually the entire globe — would further solidify its position in the industry.
At the same time, its browser was sure to be closely examined by privacy advocates because Google has been accused of collecting too much data on its customers.
Competition in the browser sector has increased substantially. The top player remains Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, but its market share has dropped from more than 90 percent a few years ago to today’s nearly 75 percent, market researchers said.
In second place is the open-source program Firefox with a share of nearly 20 percent. Another strong competitor is Apple Inc’s Safari.
Like Firefox, Chrome is to be released as open-source software, Google said. Such software can be further developed and improved by independent programmers.
Google touted Chrome as being more stable and better at running complex Web applications. For instance, it said, Chrome isolates Web pages with errors so users can close only the flawed pages without having to shut down the entire application while also receiving better protection from rogue Web sites.
The company said Chrome also includes a more powerful JavaScript engine, called V8, to run the next generation of Web applications.
“We realized that the Web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser,” Google said in its announcement.
The Chrome browser is being introduced with the appearance of the first cellphones operating on Google’s Android software. Internet surfing via cellphones is seen as the industry’s next big growth market, and Apple is also trying to capture the market with Safari on its iPhones.
Google’s release of the browser harkens back to the browser war of the mid-1990s. At that time, Microsoft beat back the dominant browser, Netscape Navigator, to insignificance, largely because it offered its Explorer for free with its Windows operating system.
Microsoft introduced the second test version of its Internet Explorer 8 a few days ago. Experts said the latest version of its browser can keep up with the current versions of Firefox and Safari.
Some industry observers said new privacy protections included in Internet Explorer could put a dent in Google’s advertising business, which is concentrated on advertisements that pop up and correspond with users’ Internet searches.
Google’s browser is also to allow users to make similar adjustments to the program to keep their data private.
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