Google Chrome is a
web browser developed by
Google that uses the
WebKit layout engine. It was first released as a
beta version for
Microsoft Windows on September 2, 2008, and the public stable release was on December 11, 2008. The name is derived from the
graphical user interface frame, or "chrome", of web browsers. As of January 2012
, Chrome is the second most widely used browser, having overtaken
Firefox in November 2011, with a 28.4% worldwide
usage share of web browsers and is the most popular browser in
Pakistan,
Russia,
India and
South America,
according to
StatCounter.