Google says "backgrounding" will be allowed only for apps and extensions, and not Web pages, which will avoid . Chrome users already have to confirm installation of apps and extensions, giving security warnings at the time. If the app or extension isn't offered via Google's official distribution channels, it's usually blocked from installation unless the user makes a configuration change allowing it.

However, as anybody who's used the Android Marketplace will know, Google takes a laissez-faire attitude towards monitoring apps. Last year the company pulled around 50 from the Marketplace after suggestions came up that they could easily be used to harvest account details.

To ensure user safety, the bar for app and extension quality is going to have to be set high, and there's no indication in this announcement that that's going to happen.

However, security issues aside, Google's efforts will . By blurring the distinction between browser and operating system, Google's making it far more intuitive for us both to work and store our data online. Of course, data is what Google is interested in, and it seems Google won't be satisfied until it has control of all the data in the world.

It's not hard to imagine a future scenario whereby we first boot our computer and then "boot the Internet" by double-clicking a browser like Chrome. Upon starting, Chrome will automatically log into all our favorite Web applications, and start any necessary background services. The new tab screen within Chrome, which shows installed apps, could easily evolve into a desktop-like experience in the future, wherein users are able to start and stop apps, and manage any data stored online.