Finally a real rival to Microsoft's mighty Windows may be just around the corner. Following on from the debut of their Chrome web browser Google are developing it into a fully fledged operating system. This slimmed down system concentrates on web-based applications and has one distinct advantage over Windows: it is free.

Engineers from the firm said the first computers running the system would be available before the end of 2010.

"We are trying to offer a choice for users," said Sundar Pichai, vice-president of product management, during an event at the firm's headquarters in California.

"This model of computing is fundamentally different."

The event follows the recent launch of Microsoft's Windows 7 and Apple's operating system upgrade, Snow Leopard.

We wait with eager anticipation...