Microsoft's Internet Explorer has about 75 percent of the browser market, and Mozilla's Firefox has around 10 percent. But Google could soon upset the balance of power in the critical browser sector with the release of Chrome, a new product many are calling a Microsoft killer.

Chrome, which will launch Wednesday, got a bit of a head start over the holiday weekend when a comic book rendering of the browser leaked onto the internet. Google quickly followed up on the leak by releasing the full comic book, which was designed as a promotional tool, on the company's blog.

At its heart, Chrome is a browser like IE or Firefox, but in practice the new product is aimed at Microsoft's jugular -- Windows. According to TechCrunch, Chrome is the first step toward a Windows-free computing environment that will allow users to browse the web and manage their desktops without having to use Microsoft products.

For Google, that means better access to the desktop, which in turn means more control over how web applications run. For Microsoft, it could mean a decline in its browser business, which essentially sustains its struggling search arm. But so far, Microsoft is downplaying Chrome.

"The browser landscape is highly competitive, but people will choose IE8 for the way it puts the services they want right at their fingertips... and, more than any other browsing technology, puts them in control of their personal data online," Dean Hachamovitch, IE's general manager, told the Associated Press.

As for Microsoft, it's not exactly flat-footed when it comes to browsing. The company is in the middle of beta testing IE8, which made headlines last week when revelations surfaced that it would include a powerful ad-blocking tool.