Will Google provide free OS to outdate Microsoft?

As has been reported over the last week or so, Google is working on developing a web-based operating system, and making it available to users for FREE!! Its also been said that the new system might be ready as early as 2010.

Update July 12, 2009:

Walid Abu-Hadba, Microsofts’s Vice President of Developer and Platform Evangelism, has gone on record to say that ‘what Google does is defensive. Abu-Hadba said it’s not about operating systems at all; instead, Google is trying to distract competitors from attacking its cash cow, search.

From the World of Google Rumors- Auth rOOch