Google has revealed it is to launch a web browser.

The search giant confirmed that Google Chrome will be introduced and is said to "more quickly handle video-rich applications posing a challenge to browsers designed originally to handle text and graphics."

The browser will be available this week in beta stage for Windows users - although Mac and Linux versions are promised soon.

A company blog post states: "Like the classic Google homepage, Google Chrome is clean and fast. It gets out of your way and gets you where you want to go."