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Google today declared war on Microsoft by announcing a free alternative to its Windows software.
The search giant hopes its software, called Chrome, will be faster and make using the internet easier.
Google hopes it will act as a Windows replacement on millions of computers and is targeting low-cost laptops to be pre-loaded with the software, which is expected to be available for free.
Microsoft's Windows has been criticised for the time it takes to start up, and being overly complicated.
“Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. It will start up and get you on to the web in a few seconds,” said Sundar Pichai of Google.
Paul Allen, editor of Computeractive magazine, said: “Microsoft is really under attack now, so it will be interesting to see how they react.”
But he added: “There could be privacy concerns over the amount of control Google will have over people's machines.” Chrome is expected to be released early next year.
