Search marketers and online advertisers take it for granted that everyone in the world knows the meaning of "Web browser." But that's just not the case.

At least that's what Google discovered after the Mountain View, Calif. company put Scott from Google on the street at Times Square in New York to interview passersby. When asked "do you know the difference between a search engine and a browser?," most people replied "no" -- with an explanation, of course.

Less than 8% of people interviewed on that day knew the meaning of a browser, according to Google. And if they don't know the meaning of "Web browser," they certainly aren't familiar with Google's Chrome, Google's browser.

Googlers, shocked by the number of people who could not define "Web browser," on Tuesday launched the whatbrowser.org Web site. It allows people to identify the browser they use, define the term "Web browser" and download Opera, Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari.

Chrome held the No. 4 spot for the most widely used browser in September, with 3.17% of worldwide market share, according to Net Applications. Development versions of Chrome for Linux and Mac OS X were released in June 2009. The research firm estimates that last month Microsoft Internet Explorer took 65.71% market share; Firefox, 23.75%; and Safari, 4.24%.

Aside from the 1:09-minute instructional video that defines a Web browser and how it differs from an operating system and search engine, Google's site provides graphs and charts, browser diagnostic tests, and instructions on how to change the home page in Google Chrome.

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