By JESSICA E. VASCELLARO and ROBERT A. GUTH
September 1, 2008 5:54 p.m.

Google Inc. confirmed that it plans to launch its own Web browser, in the latest twist in a battle with Microsoft Corp. over key Internet technologies.

The Internet company, in a posting on its Web site Monday, indicated that a beta version of the software would be available for download on Tuesday.

The company said the software is designed to make it easier and faster to browse the Web, by offering enhanced address-bar features and other elements that are very different from those on other browsers. The product will be open-sourced, meaning others can modify the code.

"We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser," wrote Sundar Pichai, a Google vice president of product management. "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."

News of the project spread after an unconventional leak. Google Blogoscoped, a blog that follows the company, reported Monday that Google had sent it a comic book outlining the specifications of the browser -- which include a new format for "tabs" and the ability to view Web pages as thumbnails.

The launch is a risky move for Google, which competes against Microsoft's search service but has so far refrained from taking on the near-monopoly of its Internet Explorer browser. While there has been speculation for years that Google has been working on a browser, the Internet company has preferred to focus on Web applications and supported other browsers trying to compete indirectly.

Google's browser could create problems for the Mozilla Foundation, the organization that builds Firefox, a free browser that has become increasingly popular lately.

Google has been a partner with the Mozilla organization, providing engineering expertise and finances that are used to develop Firefox. Google and Mozilla last week renewed their agreement, which was set to expire in November, extending it until 2011.

A person close to Google said support for Mozilla is likely to continue.

Google has been working on the product for about two years, according to one person familiar with the matter. Work became more serious after Microsoft launched Internet Explorer 7 in 2006, according to one person familiar with the project. Google grew concerned that the browser would make it easier for Microsoft to route users to Microsoft's search service, which could hurt Google's market share.