"Slow and steady wins the race" -- that was the motto of the proverbial tortoise and its seemingly that of Google, as well.  After all Google isn't exactly the first to come to any particular market -- search, email, browser, smartphone operating system, etc. -- it just slowly builds in popularity and becomes a formidable force in each respective market.

Two years ago yesterday Google launched Chrome -- its first browser.  Yesterday it celebrated that anniversary with the release of the stable sixth version of its growingly popular browser [download here].

When Google Chrome first launched many were skeptical of the effort at best.  What did Google, a web software provider, know about making a successful piece of desktop software?  The answer, it turns out, was "quite a lot".

Google's Chrome browser has consistently been the fastest browser (based on our own testing here at DailyTech).  It also was among the first to implement sandboxed process for individual tabs, adding security and stability.  What's impressive on that note is how quickly it turned what was just an intriguing research project -- into code in a flagship product.

The road hasn't always been smooth.  As Chrome regulars know, the browser has had some serious stability and compatibility issues, particular for those downloading experimental builds.  Some days you saw Google's "Aw, snap!" error message on a far too regular basis.

However, here it is today sitting pretty in third place with 7.52 percent market share -- over twice what it had in October 2009.  And its momentum is continuing.

With Chrome 6.0, Google's tuned up stability, improved HTML 5 support, improved autofill, offered auto-translate, and improved syncing remotely with your various installs.  Menus have also been merged into a single all purpose unified menu, down from two in a previous build.  Linux and Mac support have also been improved.

In months ahead Google says its biggest goals are to roll out hardware acceleration (GPU rendering) for its browser (which Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox 4 feature) and build up its Chrome Web Store, which Google intends to be the internet's version of Apple's iTunes App Store. 

In short, while Google currently sits a bit back from top dogs Microsoft and Mozilla, the best is yet to come.  After all, this picture looks awful familiar -- doubling growth on a year-to-year basis, big veteran players, and a unique fresh perspective from Google.  Android, anyone?