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Google to launch operating system for PCs

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-08 14:48

SUN VALLEY, Idaho: Google Inc is preparing to launch an operating system for personal computers next year, taking direct aim at the dominance of Microsoft Corp's Windows franchise.

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Called the Google Chrome Operating System, the new software will be targeted at netbook computers and be fast and lightweight, enabling users to access the Web in a few seconds, Google said in a statement on Tuesday.

Netbooks running the new operating system -- based on open-source Linux code -- will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010, Google said, adding it was working with multiple manufacturers.

Google also said Google Chrome OS was a new project, separate from its Android mobile operating software found in smartphones.

"All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies," Sundar Pichai, vice president of product management at Google, said in a Google blog.