While not totally a surprise, Google announced (somewhat accidentally) not too long ago that it will launch an open source Web browser later today, named Chrome. (Screenshots have also leaked.) Quite literally, every site on the Web is talking about it, because when Google jumps, we all need to say “how high?”

Google’s rationale for launching a new Web browser is that today’s Web sites—YouTube, Facebook, Picnik, Twitter, Photosynth, SmugMug, and so on—are more than just a Drudge Report-style collection of text links; browsers need to evolve to make using these rich Web sites and Web applications as easy as possible. Hence, Chrome.

It’s scheduled to come out later today, while TechCrunch is covering it from A to Z.

I’ll reserve judgment till it comes out. Maybe they’ll do a east-to-west time zone release—I’d get it before the rest of the guys (Peter, Biggs, Doug, Devin, Matt, etc) in the states!