Flock, the social Web browser makes a return, this time based on Google's open source Chromium browser. The original version of the browser, Flock 1.0, was released in 2007 and based on Mozilla's Firefox browser. At a time when social media was first taking shape, Flock was designed with blog publishing options and social networking functions built in. Flock's most recent build, 2.6 continued to feature strong social networking features, other browsers had gained popularity through faster load speeds and a multitude of extensions that allowed for similar functionality.

Now Flock has returned with a beta based on Chromium, rather than Firefox. The resulting browser, which is currently available only on Windows, with a Mac release to follow, features the familiar minimalist design of Chrome with added features custom to the browser.

Most notable in these features is the Sidebar, which allows users to integrate their Twitter and Facebook profiles into the browser, streaming updates from both sources at the same time. These feeds can be customized and pared down to specific friends lists as well. Naturally, it's possible to post updates to one or both accounts from within the browser as well.

Flock also uses Google's search engine to crawl Twitter and Facebook, returning related posts in the search results.

To download the new Flock beta, visit beta.flock.com.