Apple today announced the release of Safari, which the company claims is the “fastest and easiest to use Web browser ever created for the Mac.” Apple goes on to say that Safari’s rendering engine loads pages over three times faster than Internet Explorer for the Mac and runs Javascript over twice as fast. Features of the new browser include Google search capabilities integrated directly into the toolbar; SnapBack, a new way to instantly snap back up to search results or the top level of any Web site after browsing down one or more levels; a completely new way to name, organize and present bookmarks; and automatic “pop-up” ad blocking. The Safari public beta is available now from Apple’s site and requires Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar), but is optimized for Mac OS X 10.2.3. The final version of Safari is expected later in 2003.