The meteoric rise of Google’s Chrome web browser has a side effect that I think a lot of people are missing. It gives Google, which wants to continue to be the center of the web in the face of a huge challenge by Facebook, the ultimate weapon. And while Google will never admit this, they don’t have to. We’re already seeing it.

The latest builds of Chrome (version 14 in the Canary channel) feature a new, experimental profile switching and creation icon. This ability to tie a Google account to Chrome has been around for a little while, and it’s a vital part of Chrome OS, but given the new graphical layout of the feature, it’s clear that Google intends to make this much more useful and compelling.

In the upper right hand side of Chrome’s outer chrome (heh), you’ll see a beaker icon that Google likes to use for experimental features. Clicking on this allows you to see your Chrome Profile, customize it, switch to another one, or delete it. The customization is still rudimentary — you can set your sync options (which is again, old) or you can create a new profile. When you go to create a new profile, you’re taken to a page that allows you to set a profile name and pick a profile icon — it’s similar to Chrome OS. The text on the creator reads:

“A Chrome profile contains a set of bookmarks, browsing history, saved passwords, and themes. You can create multiple profiles if you need to manage separate settings. For example, you can use one profile, and your friend can use another.”

That all sounds simple and great. But again, don’t overlook the underlying power here....