Google has gone and got all official with the latest steady release of its, ever-growing in popularity, browser - Chrome 9.

It seems like only a couple of months ago that we were telling you all about the release of Chrome 8. Hang on, it was.

It seems Google isn't going down the same path as Microsoft and Mozilla in terms of browser updates - Internet Explorer has taken over 15 years to get to version 9 and Firefox 4 is due to land soon, more than 6 years after version 1.0 landed. Chrome has only been on the scene just over 2 years.

But anyway, what's in a number? Well hang on, and we'll tell you.

Chrome 9 brings with it three key additions - WebGL, Chrome Instant, and the Chrome Web Store.

You may have read about WebGL on Pocket-lint before. It's a new standard that adds hardware-accelerated 3D graphics within you browser. Google has set up some demos for you to try out and see for yourself (obviously you'll need to be on Chrome 9 first).

Chrome Instant brings Google Instant to your browser without even needing to go to Google - it's done via the URL bar instead. At this rate, in a year or so we'll just have to look at our browsers and we'll be given the results we want.

Finally, the Chrome Web Store is now open to all Chrome users in the US of A. For lucky Americans there will now be a link to the Chrome Web Store on the New Tab page, along with two sample apps.

Chrome 9 is available now, direct from Google.