Google Chrome Is The Fastest-Growing Web Browser; Revives Competition In Browser Market

According to an article on the Wall Street Journal, competition in the Web browser market is heating up again after several years. Just as the Firefox Web browser kindled competition in a market dominated by Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Internet Explorer several years back, Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) Chrome Web browser has started making its presence felt.

According to data released by NetApplications.com, Chrome accounted for 7.24% of the world-wide browser market in June and is currently the fastest-growing Web browser. In May, Chrome had 70 million active users, which marks a significant jump from 30 million users in June 2009, according to Google. Chrome attaining the position of the world’s third largest browser has added to Google’s clout.

According to analyst Sheri McLeish of Forrester Research, "The browser matters because of its ability to drive access to other assets."

Google is trying to gain further market share with the introduction of an operating system called Chrome OS, which is designed to run only Web-based software. Chrome OS laptop computers are likely to hit the shelves this fall. Sundar Pichai, vice president of product development at Google, says, "When the Web gets better, Google tends to benefit."

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