There is lots of news floating around today that Google have acquired a $1million stake in the Chinese / Israeli start-up behind Maxthon web browser.

It has been a long running rumour that Google would develop their own web browser and today’s reports seem to confirm their intentions. Internet Explorer and Firefox currently rule the market and a Google browser would give a perfect platform for Google to expand their offering.

Maxthon has had over 80 million downloads of its browser, and over half of its users are in China. Maxthon-originated searches may account for up to 25% of total Baidu traffic, according to one source.

The deal was apparently done at least two months ago, but the companies have delayed releasing the news. We’ve contacted Netanel Jacobsson at Maxthon about this story, but he has declined to comment. We also have an email into Google PR for comment.

Maxthon has raised less than $6 million prior to this investment. Seed financing came from Morten Lund and WI Harper in March 2005, and CRV invested around $5 million in the company in March 2006.

We will keep you posted.