Google Inc. is shifting its Web browser out of test mode just 100 days after its debut, an unusually quick transition for a company known for keeping the "beta" tag on some products for years.

Thursday's removal of the test label from Google's browser, called Chrome, underscores its importance to the Internet search leader.

Google is trying to lure Web surfers away from the leading browsers, Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer and the Mozilla Foundation's Firefox.

Google said it decided to take Chrome out of beta because of improvements to the browser's stability and security. Among other things, Chrome now does a better job of playing video and audio than it was first introduced, loads pages even more quickly and offers more controls over bookmarks and privacy, according to Google.

Other more popular Google products haven't shed the beta tag as quickly. The Mountain View-based company's news section stayed in beta for more than three years after its 2002 debut and its free e-mail service remains in beta more than 4 1/2 years after it hit the market.