New York, December 9 -- An year after unveiling Chrome for Windows, Google has released the beta version of its Chrome browser for Mac OS X and Linux.

The company had in June released rough version of chrome for both the operating system
but it did not support many features like Flash, users could not manage bookmarks or alter privacy settings etc.

“We wanted Google Chrome to feel at home on the Mac, so we've focused on uniting our clean, simple design with subtle animations and effects to create a snappy and satisfying browsing experience on OS X,” Brian Rakowski, product manager stated in a blog post.

Though both Mac and Linux are not used widely by ordinary computer users, there has been some demand from engineers. With the new browser for both Mac and Linux, Google is hopeful that Chrome will become popular among the tech circles.

Support for extensions
The biggest feature being offered in beta versions of the browser for Mac and Linux is the support for extensions, a new way to add more features and functionality to the browser.

There are times when there are some features, which are useful for some but not for others. Extensions allow users to customize browser with the features that users like, thus keeping the browser free of clutter.

There are three types of extensions available-

Browser actions - Here the buttons are placed adjacent to the Page and Tools menus, thus allowing users to conveniently access the buttons, no matter which page is open.

Page actions - When the user visits a new page, icons are displayed in the address bar. Users can click on the icons to perform a certain task.

Content scripts - Here the extensions interact directly with the page the user is visiting. For instance, Google Translate adds a banner on top of the page whenever it detects that language on the page is different than being used by the users on Google chrome. Users can click on the button to translate the content in the language of their choice.

The extensions are easy to use, install and they run in their own process to avoid crashing, claims Google.

Currently, there are more than 300 extensions available in the gallery for Linux users.

Chrome takes on rivals
Apart from the above mentioned feature, there is more to Chromo that makes it a tough contender to rivals like Firefox and Safari.

Speed - Google Chrome as a browser runs Web pages and applications with lightning speed.

Stability - If an individual tab crashes, other tabs are unaffected. With malware and phishing protection, it offers Web security.

Easy accessibility - When a user opens a tab, the sites visited the most are readily available; thus allowing users to easily visit their favorite Web sites.

Ominibox - Unlike other Web browsers that offer an address bar and a search bar on top of the window, Google Chrome offers just one box for searching and entering URLs.

Incognito - If a user does not want his browsing sessions to be recorded, he can browse in incognito mode.