In yet another salvo across the bow of Microsoft, Google has launched its own web browser. The new product is open source and was actually released somewhat prematurely due to the release of an online comic book which Google created to explain the reasoning and features behind the new browser.

The Google browser is named ‘Chrome’ and the product will be officially released by Google on September 2, 2008 to over 100 countries.

In the explanatory post at the official Google blog, the company admits to having jumped the gun on sending out the online comic explaining Chrome. According to the company, Chrome will be released in beta as an open source browser for Windows – to be followed by versions for Mac and Linux.

In various published reports, the URL for the new product is listed as: http://gears.google.com/chrome/ although this address redirects to the Google homepage as of the writing of this post. According to CNET, Google will hold a press conference at its Mountain View, California headquarters on Tuesday, September 2, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. PDT to discuss the launch of the new browser technology.

While this browser development will probably not have a direct and immediate impact on companies that engage in consumer or business web hosting and dedicated servers, swift adoption of Chrome will force web development departments to check yet another browser for website compatibility.

According to parts of the comic book released to explain the browser, Google contends that most of what is viewed via browsers today are applications and not just web pages. These types of applications weren’t in mind when previous browser technologies (most of which are at least 5 years old by now) were created. It’s a pretty valid point that a browser designed today will probably fundamentally approach the display of Internet data and applications differently than a browser written 5 to 10 years ago. However, the real strategic vision at work here is probably something more in line with Google’s need to control and dominate the information and services that have come to be an essential part of daily life for the Internet-connected world.

Google has had to adhere to the technology and branding restrictions placed on it by (mostly) Microsoft – which currently controls about 70 percent of the browser marketplace with its Internet Explorer (IE) product. Microsoft has come to dominate the market space through free distribution of IE via piggybacking on the Windows OS installed on practically every commercially available PC – with the exception of Macs. Now Google looks to wrest that control away from Microsoft by using its online influence to distribute an ostensibly superior product.

Time will tell if Google will be as successful in schooling Microsoft on browsers just as it has on Internet search.