Google shows early version of Chrome 2.0

Following the full release of Chrome in December, Google has made available an early test version of Chrome 2.0, which overhauls the way the browser handles HTTP and adds functionality such as auto-complete in fields.

Released quietly via Google's Chrome developer channel, the early access code has an updated version of the WebKit rendering engine, and new network code to provide a cross-platform implementation of the HTTP protocol.

The new version, build 2.0.156.1, also implements auto-complete in text fields, a feature rival browsers have had for some time. It also now correctly implements the zoom feature so that everything on the page scales together, according to Google's release notes.

Google said that the new version of Chrome supports faster and more reliable Safe Browsing that uses the disk less often, while users can open new browser Windows with different profiles for different uses.

The new version of Chrome is available via Google’s developer preview channel and is likely to prove less stable than even beta versions of software, so downloaders should use it with caution.