Google recently released a beta of their new browser. I will do an in-depth look at this latter, if I feel like it, if I have time. But until then, I would like to comment on why I think Google did this.
In terms of competing with MS and IE, it seems Firefox is already doing that. While Chrome is slightly better at memory management than Firefox 3 when multiple tabs are open, both of them are so much better than IE it is a negligible advantage.
And while Chrome is mutli-threaded, it doesn’t seem like that is necessary. Unless your running a dedicated 50mbps fiber line to your house, your connection speed is going to be a bottleneck long before you CPU is.
I think they did it for one reason: Android. Google cannot control the content of Firefox, which was their previous browser of choice. By developing their own, they can create a more controlled (as much as can be for open source) environment.
Or it could be an evil plan to take control of the desktop market. But that seems unlikely.