Google Inc. (GOOG) announced that laptop computers running on search giant's Chrome operating-system software will go on sale in June, marking a significant step in its effort to compete with Microsoft Corp.

A statement by the Mountain View, Calif.-based firm on Wednesday said, "Today, we're announcing the first Chromebooks from our partners, Samsung and Acer. These are not typical notebooks. With a Chromebook you won't wait minutes for your computer to boot and browser to start. You'll be reading your email in seconds. Thanks to automatic updates the software on your Chromebook will get faster over time. Your apps, games, photos, music, movies and documents will be accessible wherever you are and you won't need to worry about losing your computer or forgetting to back up files. Chromebooks will last a day of use on a single charge, so you don't need to carry a power cord everywhere. And with optional 3G, just like your phone, you'll have the web when you need it. Chromebooks have many layers of security built in so there is no anti-virus software to buy and maintain. Even more importantly, you won't spend hours fighting your computer to set it up and keep it up to date."
Chromebooks will be available online June 15 in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy and Spain. More countries will follow in the coming months. In the U.S., Chromebooks will be available from Amazon and Best Buy and internationally from leading retailers.

At the core of each Chromebook is the Chrome web browser. Google said that there are currently 160 million active users of the Chrome Web browser. Chrome is the third most used browser, with a 12% worldwide usage share. Google originally began developing operating systems for mobile phones. That system, known as the Android, is now found in 100 million devices and has 200,000 free and paid applications. Then Google designed Chrome OS, a Linux-based operating system designed to work exclusively with web applications. Announced in 2009, the operating system was originally scheduled for release in late 2010.

The Chromebooks will not contain Microsoft's Windows operating systems but will have the Chrome OS. The Chromebooks will also have its own software for word processing and other tasks similar to Microsoft's Office suite. Google said that Chromebooks bring all of Chrome's speed, simplicity and security "without the headaches of operating systems designed 20 to 30 years ago."
With Chrome OS, Google would be taking a bite at the operating systems market, which is currently dominated by Microsoft. Microsoft itself has sought to compete with Google in the markets for Web search and advertising. Microsoft's Bing search engine is currently trailing Google, which is being used in 65.4% of Internet queries, compared with Bing's 13.6%, as of February.

The Chromebooks will be sold between $350 and $500 each. Businesses can get the devices in a package for $28 per user per month, which includes support and hardware replacements. Schools can get the laptops at $20 per user per month.