The recently introduced Chrome Frame plug-in from Google that runs in Internet Explorer 8 has drawn criticism from Microsoft on Thursday. A spokesperson responding to a ZDNet query claimed that Chrome Frame is a security risk as it doubles "the attach area for malware and malicious scripts" by introducing a second web engine. Google's code is also alleged to be less secure than that for IE8 and thus more prone to attack in its own right.

"This is not a risk we would recommend our friends and families take," the statement continued.

Chrome Frame has been pitched by Google as providing advanced features that Microsoft hasn't yet seen fit to add to its browser, including HTML 5, for every Internet Explorer variant from version 6 and up. Doing so gives those at tightly controlled workplaces some of the benefits of Chrome without having to require a security exemption for a separate browser. It's currently available for Windows Vista and XP SP2 systems.