SAD LOVE QUOTES: The need for speed: Google Chrome becomes Britain's second most popular web browser

Monday, August 1, 2011

The need for speed: Google Chrome becomes Britain's second most popular web browser

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By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 9:06 AM on 1st August 2011

Google's grip on the UK search market has tightened even further with the news that Chrome is now the country's second most popular web browser.

Just three years since its launch, the programme has leapfrogged Mozilla's Firefox browser into second place - and is quickly making gains on market-leader Microsoft's Internet Explorer.

Google says its increase in popularity is mostly down to the speed in which it delivers search results, the way it handles security, and a recent national advertising campaign.

Progress: Google Chrome is now the second most popular web browser for UK internet users

Moving up: Google Chrome is now the second most popular web browser for UK internet users

Engineer Lars Bak told the Guardian: 'Speed is a fundamental part of it, but it's also about the minimal design and the way it handles security.

'If you as a user try (to load) a webpage and it feels snappy, it's really hard to go back (to another browser). It has shown that people spend more time interacting with the web.'

Web metrics firm Statcounter revealed that last month Chrome captured 22 per cent of UK users, slightly more than Firefox. Internet Explorer was used by 45 per cent, while Apple's Safari was number four in the table, with a nine per cent share.

Globally, Chrome is the third most popular browser, with a 20.65 per cent market share.

But it is soon expected to overtake Firefox, and then become a serious competitor to Internet Explorer, which, despite a 43 per cent share, has been hit by security problems in recent months.

While its rise in popularity has been hailed by Google's bosses, the firm is keen to continue the upward trend. Last month it revealed it would be launching a Chromebook laptop which would be based on its browser.

It will be made by Samsung and Acer but have no real memory storage space. Instead, most of the data will be stored online in the 'cloud', a remote server that acts as a hard drive and is accessible from any computer.