Internet search engine Google has confirmed it is launching a new web browser after accidentally leaking details in a blog.

'Google Chrome' is designed to cope better with video-rich or other complex Web programs.

Google said in a blog: "We realised that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser.

"What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build."

The software is being developed using Webkit, the open-source engine at the heart of Apple's Safari and Google's Android platforms.

The company is hosting a press conference at its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters today at 11 a.m. PDT.

Arch-rivals Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 8 last month and controls 75% of the market.

Update: Google Chrome is now available for download at google/chrome