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Two of the world's biggest tech giants, Google and Microsoft, avoided the battle for a long time, but now Google is announcing it is working on its own computer operating system to take direct aim at Microsoft Windows.

In an official company blog, Google executives say it will be called the Google Chrome Operating System and will be related somehow to the Google Chrome web browser.

The blog says, "[T]he operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no Web. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the Web in a few seconds."

Google also says security will be built-in in a new way so that "users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates."

Yet some experts say until some key questions are answered about exactly how that will all happen, Microsoft does not need to worry.

"Google introduced the Chrome browser and it's a very good, fast browser, but it's not as rich as the other browsers like Firefox. There are just many things they leave out," says Lance Ulanoff of PCMag.com. "This will be an operating system that's all about being lean and fast. It's not necessarily going to be about a rich experience. They don't answer about how are they handling file management, how are they handling driver support, how are they handling networking?"

Initially, the new operating system will be aimed at the new, growing category of computers called "Netbooks" - tiny, inexpensive computers designed primarily around getting on the Web quickly.

Google says the new OS will be open source, which means, just like with devices like the iPhone, anyone with some computer programming knowhow should be able to create new applications and uses for it.

"Google needs to have a robust development community," says
David Carnoy of CNET.com. "The question is, how are people are going to use Netbooks? And really now, it's been about surfing the Web, using those types of Microsoft Word, Excel, getting some files. It's been for light usage. The question is, will people start demanding a little bit more?"

Microsoft and its upcoming operating system Windows 7 have several advantages. First, a version will be made specifically for Netbooks. ALso, it will be available by the end of this year, a full year before Google's 2010 launch.

Microsoft will charge a fee for Windows 7, but while pricing hasn't been announced for the Chrome OS, traditionally most Google software has been free.