During a conference call with investors and analysts, Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that despite all of the interest expressed by users, Google has no plans to develop its own web browser. Instead, the company will continue to pursue deals with computer manufacturers and software companies, much like the recently announced deal with Dell.

"The industry is obsessed with this browser question... It looks like people have some good browsers choices already," Schmidt said.

Schmidt reportedly extolled the goodness of Firefox and Opera, among others, but Internet Explorer was not mentioned.

"The way Google operates, we would not build a browser for the fun of building a browser and creating another choice... We would only do something along the lines you're describing if there was a real end-user benefit. So far, we've seen the end-user benefit has been to augment or expand both AJAX and JavaScript, which is available on all the browsers. We're working closely with Firefox, we have a good partnership with Safari and with Opera and a couple of others as well. That seems like a good answer for us right now, strategically," Schmidt added.

While Schmidt's statements are clear, there's little reason to suspect that the death of Google Browser rumors is imminent. The famed Gbrowser rumor has a life of its own, and in some circles this denial will only spur further speculation. But alas, those who are waiting for the grand revelation of Google's own browser, OS, and cure for world hunger will have to wait.

Nevertheless, Google spreads its love around, supporting Firefox and working deals with Opera. They also have inked a pact with Apple for Safari. For the time being, search deals are Google's focus, and we expect the company to continue favoring Firefox in its own projects (such as Google Pack). Shocking as it may be, we agree with Schmidt: there's plenty of good browsers out there already. (Even on the Mac!)