10 great Google Chrome extensions worth downloading

Some of these add-ons for Google's Chrome browser will help you at work and some will help you at play.

On Dec. 8, Google finally released a repository of extensions for Google Chrome. Chrome extensions numbered at more than 300 on launch day. As a beta project, extensions come with a few caveats from Google. For the moment, Google is only supporting extensions in its latest beta version of Chrome, so if you prefer the official, stable browser, you'll have to forgo add-on tools for now. Interestingly, the version of Chrome that supports extensions, dubbed "the Beta Channel" version, is only available on XP and Vista, not Windows 7, though Google has promised that extensions will soon be available for Google's new Mac version of Chrome, too.

In the meantime, Google Subnet blogger Julie Bort has scoured the extension library to come up with the ones that she thinks will boost your productivity at work. But she couldn't stop there. She added a few that are just plain fun, too.

Here's the list of her picks, which links to her write up of why she picked it, a screenshot, and a link to download the add-on. If you'd rather browse through the 300 extensions directly, here's the link. Happy hunting.

Web of Trust

Xmarks Bookmark Sync

Shareaholic for Google Chrome

LastPass for Chrome

IE Tab

Cooliris

ShowIP  (Honorable mentions in this write-up for Firebug Lite extension and YouTube HTML5-ifier)

MakeGadget

RandomMagic (Honorable mentions in this write-up for Albert Einstein Quotes and Flickr Interestingness)

Jamendo Radio

Why no ad blockers on this list?

• Google

• browsers

• Chrome

• Chrome extensions