Fire Alarms Systems

Internet browser passes Firefox, with speed and a nationwide advertising campaign credited for the rise in popularity

Google 's Chrome is Britain' s second most popular browser, a sign of the internet giant 's increasing grip on the UK search engine market.

Three years after the launch, Chrome last month, recorded 22% of UK users and nearly overtook Mozilla 's Firefox browser, according to the web metrics firm Statcounter. Microsoft 's Internet Explorer loses market share to Chrome remains the most popular browser with 45% for the UK - although they have a head start by launching pre-installed on almost all computers sold in the UK. Apple 's Safari is the UK number four, with a 9% share.

Google 's rise in the browser market is in part to nationwide advertising campaign - Chrome is the first Google product advertised on British television - but is largely due to its speed.

Lars Bak, the Google engineer for Chrome, said the goal was never a huge user base to win, but to revive a dormant browser market: "Speed ??is a fundamental part of it, but it 's also about the minimal design and the way it handles security. If you try as a user, [sec], a website and it feels snappy, it 's really difficult to return [to another browser]. It has been shown that the more time people so, spend interacting with the Internet. "

Unlike most of Google 's Talent at its Mountain View headquarters in California, Bak operates from a converted farmhouse in the Danish countryside two hours from Copenhagen. He's obsessed with speed and show, despite numerous tests, Chrome surpasses all rivals, he might think it's much faster. "It should never be satisfied [existing] his speed," he said. "Of course it is difficult to make substantial profits, but it 's all healthy competition. From the beginning we all wanted to be fast, and now all browsers are fast. I' m absolutely stunned [by the improvements made by rival browsers ] \. "

Chrome is the world's number three, after a 20.65% market share Statcounter. But analysts expect it from the edge of Firefox, which dipped steadily since January. Microsoft 's Internet Explorer was also strong, down to 43%, with warnings from security breaches.

Google last month announced its Chromebook laptop, based on its browser and seen as another ambitious attack on Microsoft; it will be made by Samsung and Acer, companies that previously made computers running Microsoft's software.

Unlike most computers, the Chromebook almost no space to store and host most of the data online in a "cloud". Bak said. "The Chrome Book is really important because it tries to simplify the machine - there is basically no maintenance, so you can price cut means that if all you do is with a browser, it 'sa fantastic tool ".