Google will today release the beta version of their first foray into the browser arena with Google Chrome. Apart from a pretty lame name, what is the search giant offering in the first of its planned iterative product release?

• Proper multi-processing, allowing JavaScript (for example) within tabs to execute separately from other tabs and processes within the browser
• Intelligent memory management
• Runs on the open source WebKit engine already used in Google’s Android mobile handset operating system
• Automated compatibility testing across millions of existing web pages
• Shortcuts to common browser functions, such as custom search
• Decent popup management
• Web applications given their own chrome to feel more like desktop apps
• Intuitive security model providing proper process sand-boxing
• Always-active phishing signature updates

All in all this sounds like a pretty promising package but I’ll remain dubious until the beta is released later today and we can have a play ourselves. One does wonder how Google Chrome may affect the great work of the Mozilla project but they seem pretty satisfied by the new Firefox competitor.