Aiming to take its Web browser closer to its ultimate support of Linux and Mac OS X, Google has unveiled a pre-beta version of Chrome 2.0 - or Chrome 2.0.156.1, as it is officially called.

Almost immediately after Google's last September release of the browser in beta, the call for supporting operating systems other than Windows had started.

The pre-beta was released to Google's Dev Channel on Thursday, allowing the developers the opportunity to examine the new additions and improvements. Along with Linux and Mac support, the latest release is a new WebKit - the open source code used for delivering Web pages. This open-source browser engine powers Chrome and Apple Inc.'s Safari, as also the most recent version of Google's own V8 JavaScript engine.

Among other additions are a new auto-complete feature that fleshes out half-done entries in online forms; and the feature that "docks" tabs dragged to the top, sides and bottom of the desktop. Moreover, along with fixing bugs, the new version adds more cascading style sheet features, enabling full-page zoom and auto-scroll.

Yet another new feature of the pre-beta is the facility of opening a new browser window that uses a different profile, which can be named and added as a shortcut to the desktop. The new profile launches with different bookmarks, history, and cookies.

With the wide array of new features and improvements, Google Chrome is being touted as a "game-changer".