Google designers have been working overtime trying to get their Chrome browser up and running on Apple's OS-X.

Chrome Project Manager, Karen Grünberg told Ars Technica that Google had to be especially careful when designing the beta version of the OS-X Chrome browser to make it fit into the Apple environment. Although she didn't say that Google needed the browser to say 'smug' there are a lot of indications that the search engine outfit, has tried to copy the Apple design scheme. You can tell at first glance that this is the Chrome browser and at the same time, it feels like a native application, she said.

OK the screen components are a bit clunkier than Apple users are used too as it uses Google's fonts and icons which are clearly not blessed by Steve Jobs, however otherwise it uses all the standard Cocoa elements, from menus to window buttons to scrollbars to resize handles.

Senior Software Engineer Amanda Walker said that Mac Users were all about style rather than substance so Google paid particular attention to those details while integrating with the OS.

Chrome is built on Webkit, an open source web browser engine that was originally developed by Apple by the KDE project and which helps power OS X's Safari on the Mac and the iPhone.

Quite why Google is going to such lengths to integrate with the Apple form is anyone's guess. Most Apple users think that Safari is a good browser so anything would be a step up. Apparently it is going to take some time before Apple users can get a workable beta.