Google to support Chrome on XP until 2015

Google will support those on the Chrome browser for Windows XP until "at least" April 2015 - a year after Microsoft pulls the plug on its OS.

Microsoft will stop issuing updates and patches for Windows XP in April next year and has been encouraging users to migrate to newer versions of Windows. But Google said it'll continue to support its browser in the expectation that many users won't move off XP as fast as Microsoft might like.

Google also admitted that it might not make sense to yank Chrome support so soon, given many of its users are still on XP. "We recognise that hundreds of millions of users, including a good chunk of current Chrome users, still rely on XP," the company said.

"Moreover, many organisations still run dozens or even hundreds of applications on XP and may have trouble migrating. Our goal is to support Chrome for XP users during this transition process."

Beyond "a good chunk", it isn't clear how many Windows XP users actually use Chrome. The operating system is still the second most popular behind Windows 7, with 30% of the market, according to NetMarketShare.

XP users are also barred from modern versions of Internet Explorer - the latest version they're able to upgrade to is IE8, leaving them with Chrome and Firefox as more up-to-date alternatives.

This article originally appeared at pcpro.co.uk