'People want to get to their email instantly, without wasting time waiting for their computers to boot and browsers to start up. They want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them,' the Google blog said.

'They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files. Even more importantly, they don't want to spend hours configuring their computers to work with every new piece of hardware or have to worry about constant software updates.'

As enticing as that prospect may seem, it's not guaranteed to work, says Don Retallack, vice president of research at Directions on Microsoft - a company that tracks the software giant.

'Google may or may not have the experience and capability of actually producing an operating system and getting it deployed,' he said. 'It may not realise how hard it is.'

Microsoft still sells between 80 and 90 percent of PC operating systems and is convinced that users, especially businesses, still want their data and programmes to be stored locally, Retallack said.

'People want their information under their own control,' he says.

'I think it's going to be harder than people think.'

For example, users who opt for a Chrome-powered PC will have to give up their old software, and may find much of their data impossible to transfer. For computer-game players, video editors or any other users who need raw computing power, Chrome might be significantly underpowered.

Still, the influential blog Techcrunch called Google's move a 'genius play'.

'Microsoft has a very serious competitive threat to the core of their revenues,' said site founder Michael Arrington. 'Every Chrome computer bought won't have Windows and won't have Office. That must send chills down the spine of the guys up in Redmond.'