A Computerworld report points out the toll Google's new web browser, Chrome, has taken on rivals Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Opera, noting that Safari hasn't been affected at all by its recent emergence on the market.

At the beginning of this month, Google released its much-awaited web browser, Google Chrome. The browser is currently available only for Windows users, but the Google team is heavy at work on a Mac version of the application, which, Google claims, will pack even more features once it's out. However, until then, the 40,000 sites monitored by Net Applications Inc only reveal the dents Chrome is leaving on non-Apple web browsers, namely Mozilla's Firefox, Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Opera Software ASA’s Opera.

Research has shown that Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and even AOL's Netscape have seen their market-share drop in the past two weeks, while Apple's own web browser, Safari, not only escaped Chrome's wrath, but has actually gained almost 0.7 percentage points during the past 14 days, the Computerworld report reveals. These figures are sure to change, though, with the release of Google Chrome for Mac.

VP Product Management, Sundar Pichai, and Engineering Director, Linus Upson, stated on the Official Google Blog that “this is just the beginning,” when the new web browser was being introduced to the public. “Google Chrome is far from done,” they further explained. “We're releasing this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible.” Pichai added, “We're hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and will continue to make it even faster and more robust.”

Google's Chrome uses several elements from the Apple system framework version of the WebKit engine. Some say that Safari is likely going to borrow some of the neat stuff Chrome sports, thanks to the merits of Open Source.