Can Google Build a Better Browser?

Holy browser wars, Batgirl! Google announces it will release a brand new open source web browser tomorrow, called Google Chrome. Whaa? Yeah, that’s what we said. Here’s what Google says:

On the surface, we designed a browser window that is streamlined and simple. To most people, it isn’t the browser that matters. It’s only a tool to run the important stuff — the pages, sites and applications that make up the web. Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go.

The Googlers said they borrowed parts of Mozilla’s Firefox and Apple’s WebKit to build Google Chrome, which sounds like it might be similar to Prism (but with tabs). We won’t know what Google Chrome will look like till tomorrow, when they make the beta available for download. Update: Techcrunch has some leaked screenshots and (now non-working) video clips. Tx, christophersisk. In the meantime, do you want a new browser from the big G? Can you imagine it being good enough to switch from your current favourite browser? Either way, the browser wars just got a heck of a lot more interesting. Check back tomorrow for our full Google Chrome test drive.