As with each version since launch, Chrome version 6 is faster and more streamlined than its predecessors.

The browser is three times faster than it was two years ago on JavaScript performance, Google claims.

Chrome is also more secure than ever, with the release of fixes for 15 documented security vulnerabilities.

Google has paid out more than $4,300 in rewards to researchers for submitting details on security problems, according to reports.

In ongoing attempts to streamline the already minimalist browser, Google has combined Chrome's two menus into one.

Other changes to the user interface include the relocation of some buttons and a stripping down of the URL box and the Omnibox.

Looking ahead, Chrome's development team plan even faster browser speeds and improved graphics performance, according to Brian Rakowski, Chrome product manager at Google.

"With the Chrome Web Store, we hope to make it much easier to find and use great applications on the web," he wrote in a blog post.

"We also ratcheted up the pace of our releases so that we can get new features and improvements to everyone more quickly," he said.

After just two years Chrome controls more than 7.5% of the world browser market, according to Net Marketshare.

While still relatively small compared with Internet Explorer (60.4%) and Firefox (22.9%), Chrome has overtaken Opera, which has gained only 2.4% in 10 years.

This story was first published by Computer Weekly