Google has announced a major deal that will see its own Chrome Internet browser packaged with Sony VAIO brand PCs shipped in the near future. It's a giant breakthrough for Google, which has struggled to find a comfortable place in the market amidst Microsoft's Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox. (Source: seattlepi.com)

Reports haven't yet revealed exactly which Sony models will come equipped with Chrome, but Google spokesperson Eitan Bencuya, who for the most part remained mum on the topic, did announce the agreement will take effect this summer. It's part of Google's plan to make Chrome, which has yet to become a household name, more accessible to people worldwide.

"We are in the process of testing one such channel with Sony," said the company in a recent statement. (Source: reuters.com)

Sony, Google, Back-Scratching

However, the deal is hardly generous work by Sony, which is also seeking a jump-start.

Sony, which is known better for its TVs and video game consoles than its computers, trails competitors HP and Dell by a fairly wide margin and could use the publicity accompanying the deal with Google. In fact, Sony is probably more desperate than the makers of Chrome; according to a recent research report from IDC, the former didn't even rank in the top five PC vendors in worldwide shipments.

Google Browser Share Disappointing but Respectable

To date, Google's Chrome, which debuted last September, has in a year earned a respectable but disappointing 2.59 per cent share of the worldwide browser market. It continues to trail industry leader Internet Explorer (67.7%), up-and-comer Mozilla Firefox (22.5%) and Apple's trendy Safari (4%) by wide margins.

Still, the deal with Sony is Google's first major distribution deal in its attempt to promote Chrome. It's quite possible that in another year those statistics above could receive a dramatic readjustment. (Source: wsj.com)