"Users' response to Google Chrome has been outstanding, and we're continuing to explore ways to make Chrome accessible to even more people," Google said. Neither Sony nor Google disclosed the terms of the deal.

With Chrome installed on Sony VAIO laptops, Google could see millions of new users experiment with its browser. Sony predicted it will sell more than six million VAIOs in the current fiscal year that ends in March 2010.

Targeting Microsoft IE

"It's definitely a nice win for Google when a tier-one vendor is willing to put your software on the hardware . Now consumers who purchase Sony laptops don't have to go to Google's site to download Chrome," said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president at Interpret. "It is a win for Google, but Chrome has not displaced (Internet Explorer), it's in addition to IE. So the question is whether or not it will matter in the long term."

Google launched Chrome on Sept. 1, 2008, and has grabbed 2.8 percent of the Web browser market, according to Net Applications' August data . That puts Google well behind Microsoft's market-dominant IE at 66.9 percent.

But Mozilla has proven that Microsoft is not immune to competition from alternative browser companies. Mozilla's Firefox has slowly but steadily eroded IE market share and now holds 22.9 percent of the browser market worldwide. Opera, meanwhile, has garnered only two percent of the market while Safari holds a four percent share with its Mac advantage.

Google's Chrome Push

Google could be getting ready to make a major push for double-digit market share to pave the way for its Google Chrome operating system. The Sony deal is significant because Sony is a major brand, Gartenberg said, and you can't ignore the implications of making Chrome available on the VAIO.

"I think Google is going to try to cut as many deals as they possibly can, almost in Netscape-like fashion, to try to establish that space," Gartenberg said. "The question is what is that going to give them that they wouldn't already have if people are using Google services under IE, if people are using Google tools under Windows?"

There's also another question: What's it worth to Google to make deals with major PC vendors a reality? With the Sony deal, Google has a feeling of momentum. But Gartenberg is wondering where these initiatives will get Google in the browser wars and why Google launched into the browser business to begin with.