Google Inc on Thursday unveiled the open sourcing of the code for its Chrome operating system for personal computers, inviting developers to keep up with developments and start contributing to Chrome OS, which will hit the market by the holiday season of next year.

The web-based operating system, which is open-source and available for computer makers for free, allows applications to live on the web and anything users save is available from anywhere, Sundar Pichai, Google's VP of product management, announced at Google Chrome OS Webcast.

Pichai also announced the highlights of the new operating system will be based upon the success of the Chrome browser's speed, simplicity and security.

When asked the pricing tag of the new operating system, Pichai shied away from the question, saying it will be announced next year by partners.

The Chrome browser, within which the Chrome OS will provide users experience, has seen 40 million users since its launch last year, Pichai said. He also noted that the current version boots in 7 seconds and Google is working hard to make it shorter.

Google also announced that Chrome Extensions are nearly ready to launch while Chrome for Mac will be ready by end of the year.

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