Google Chrome OS build is available for free download online

 Google’s operating system that was presented by the company last week has already leaked onto the Internet and posted for download on several file-sharing sites. Users have compiled Chrome OS from the bits that Google publicly released as part of its move to take the operating system open source.

The “complete” and ready to run application has become available on a number of BitTorrent tracking sites, including Mininova.org and Pirate Bay. The Gdgt website has also posted a free download of the Chrome OS disk image.

In order to operate the Chrome OS build users need to install a virtual machine client, such as VMware's Workstation, or for the Mac, Fusion, then install Chrome in a new virtual machine. VMware offers free 30-day trials of both Workstation 7 and Fusion 3 on its site. besides, some users also noted that the free VirtualBox, a Sun-hosted open source virtual machine, does the trick as well. VMware's free VMPlayer also lets users try out Chrome OS.

While there were no directions given by Google on how to run the Chrome OS in a virtual machine, several websites took up the slack with step-by-step installation guides.

The volume of the posted files is significant with a compressed version of a VMware-ready Chrome OS build reaching 281MB.