When Google announced that they were starting development on the Chrome OS they listed a bunch of different manufacturers they were working with. Conspicuously absent from that list was Intel, the world's largest processor developer. This was hardly unexpected; Intel is working on its own Linux-based operating system, Moblin, and also has close ties to Microsoft.

Today, however, Intel surprised everyone by announcing that they have been aware of the Chrome OS project for “some time”.

"We work with Google on a variety of projects, including elements of this one. We've been privy to the project for some time," said Nick Jacobs, spokesman for Intel.

This is a logical move on Intel's part, as they've been working on putting their Atom microprocessors into smaller and smaller computers for some time now. Chrome OS is being designed primarily for netbooks, and it makes sense that Intel would want to be in on the ground floor of what could be that device's next generation.

The question then is this; why didn't Google reveal they were working with Intel from the get-go? I suppose it's possible that they just forgot to mention them on their list earlier this week. Or it's possible that they don't consider Intel to have had a big enough role in Chrome's development to be worth mentioning. It's also possible that they wanted to keep that information under wraps for as long as possible, although if that were true I doubt Intel would have made this announcement.

This is something that's sure to provoke a great deal of discussion among the blogging community. What do you think Apple and Intel are getting up to?