Google unveils Chrome for Mac and Linux

Google has released the long-promised Mac and Linux versions of its Chrome web browser.

The company said on Tuesday that both versions of Chrome were being released as 'beta' versions. Google tends to keep the beta label on products it considers to still be under development.

First announced in 2008 and rumoured to be in the final stages last month, the Mac and Linux versions were approached by Google as completely new projects, rather than ported copies of the Windows build.

In a posting to the official company blog, Google product manager Brian Rakowski said that optimising performance was the focus on designing both of the new versions of the browser, though developers also made a point of tuning the visual presentation on both browser to blend with the interface of their respective operating systems.

"We wanted Google Chrome to feel at home on the Mac, so we've focused on uniting our clean, simple design with subtle animations and effects to create a snappy and satisfying browsing experience on OS X," wrote Rakowski.

"Just like Google Chrome for Windows and Mac, we focused on speed, stability and security, but we also wanted a high-performance browser that integrated well with the Linux ecosystem."

Rakowski said that in addition to the Mac and Linux releases, the company was also releasing extensions for the Linux build which will be available alongside plug-ins for the Windows browser. Plug-ins for the Mac browser are still under development.