Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has decided to pile even more pressure on Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) by launching the beta version of an open source Web browser called Chrome.

In its introduction to the browser, Google takes a swipe at Microsoft's Internet Explorer by noting that applications such as online chat, online games, and Web-based video weren't around "when the first browsers were created... Wouldn't it be great, then, to start from scratch and design something based on the needs of today's Web applications and today's users?"

Check out Google's overview of its Chrome strategy, and then check out its comic strip introduction to Chrome, which is a very cool way to present a new project.

— Ray Le Maistre, International News Editor, Light Reading