May 10, 2011 08:02 GMT  ·  By

As expected, Google Chrome 12.0 graduated from the Dev to the Beta Channel, introducing a number of enhancements that early adopters can start testing. Chrome 12.0.742.30 Beta is available for download for all supported platforms, including Windows, featuring a number of enhancements for testers to play with.

Designed to hammer in yet another nail in the Google Gears coffin, Chrome 12.0.742.30 Beta is illustrative of the Mountain View-based search giant’s commitment to HTML5. As of 12.0.742.30, the Google Gears plug-in is no longer integrated with the browser.

According to Google, Chrome 12.0 Beta sports improved graphics performance, enhanced security and better privacy protection.

“We’ve finished implementing support for hardware-accelerated 3D CSS, which allows web developers to apply slick 3D effects to web page content using CSS,” revealed Vangelis Kokkevis, Software Engineer.

“Second, we’ve taken Safe Browsing a step further. In addition to protecting you against malware and phishing websites, Chrome now warns you before downloading some types of malicious files.”

Starting with Chrome 12.0, users will be able to benefit from the added protection of checked downloads, with the browser making sure that they don’t grab malicious code from the Internet.

As far as privacy is concerned, Chrome remains the only browser not to feature support at least for the Do Not Track header, but it now allows customers to easily remove Flash Local Shared Objects (LSOs), also known as Flash cookies.

Additional enhancements were made to Chrome’s accessibility, Kokkevis revealed.

“We’ve improved screen reader support in Chrome. Many people who are blind or visually impaired use a screen reader, a special type of software that describes the contents of the screen using synthesized speech or braille,” Kokkevis added.

“It’s a very important technology for people who would otherwise be unable to use a computer, so we’ve added preliminary support for many popular screen readers including JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver.”

Obviously, now that Chrome 12.0 has hit Beta, early adopters should be expecting the first Chrome 13.0 Dev Build to be released for testing soon.

Google Chrome for Windows is available for download here.

Google Chrome for Linux is available for download here.

Google Chrome for Mac is available for download here.