Google improves mouse control in Chrome web browser

SOFTWARE HOUSE Google has released a fresh beta of its Chrome web browser and says it includes improved mouse control.

The feature is aimed at gamers, and sees Google adopting the Pointer Lock Javascript API, or mouse lock.

It is designed for use with 3D web applications and games. You can try it out with a Quake 3 map viewer now, and it lets you control movement such as looking around while keeping your mouse cursor firmly in place on the screen.

Trying out the Quake 3 demo, which sadly does not give you the ability to shoot anything, is probably the best way to see how it works. Keeping the cursor central makes looking around easy, meaning that you can concentrate on running, jumping and, when and if a game allows it, shooting things.

For Google it will mean that its web browser, which has around a third of the global market, can tap into a gaming audience that previously it didn't enjoy. µ