The open source operating system is based on Google's internet browser, Chrome. The Google Chrome OS will initially be targeted at netbooks — the smaller, no-frills, low-cost version of the laptop, said Google in a posting Tuesday night.
"Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010," Sundar Pichai, Google's vice-president of product management, and Linus Upson, Google's engineering director said in a joint blog post.
"Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web."
Google CEO Eric Schmidt and co-founder Sergey Brin are expected to discuss Google's new operating system later this week when they appear at a media conference hosted by Allen & Co. at the Sun Valley resort in Idaho.
Microsoft has drawn much of its power — and profits — from the Windows operating system that has steered most personal computers for the past two decades. The company will release its newest operating system, Windows 7, later this year.
Google estimates about 30 million people are using its Chrome browser, a fraction of those that rely on Microsoft's market-leading Internet Explorer.
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