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Google's Chrome Web Store went live on Tuesday, coinciding with the company's public demonstration of the upcoming Google Chrome OS. Although the operating itself won't be available on notebooks until well into 2011, the Chrome Web Store is up and running now, bringing a wide range of apps and extensions to the speedy Google Chrome 8 browser.

Apps, as defined by Google, are interactive Web sites that focus on a single task or provide an array of features and are easily identified as they load a URL in the address bar. For example, the NY Times' app sees the top stories laid out in a grid, which can be accessed from a PC, or even an iPad: http://www.nytimes.com/chrome/.

Extensions, on the other hand, let you add new features to the Google Chrome browser itself—and only the Chrome browser. For example, the Google Mail Check Plus extension lets you receive, archive, and create new messages without leaving the tab. There's no URL to visit as these mini-programs are designed to run only within Chrome. We're focusing on these because they can greatly enhance your browser experience.

We've combed the Chrome Web Store in search of the most useful, entertaining, and simply cool extensions available so far. The 10 extensions listed here will help you take screenshots, check movies listings, find fresh Web content, stream audio, and more—and you won't have to leave the confines of your Google Chrome browser. Note: Lightshot, an excellent screen capture extension, doesn't currently worth within Chrome OS, but it functions perfectly as a Mac /Windows Chrome browser add-on.

Click the slideshow below to check out the 10 best free Google Chrome Extensions .

PC Mag has the article HERE !