The employees of the U.S. State Department are apparently like employees anywhere. they hate using outdated browsers that don’t support newer protocols and features that websites are putting into their designs. So, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton held a Town Hall meeting for those employees, they asked her about it.

“Madame Secretary, this next question is probably one of the most discussed topics on the [State Department employee] sounding board. Todd Schwarz asks: Are there any steps that can be taken to accelerate the upgrade of Internet Explorer on department systems?”

The room roared with laughter and applause at the question. Secretary Clinton herself broke into a broad grin of recognition at the obviously all-too-common question. It wasn’t something related to homeland security, foreign policy, or overseas diplomacy. It was something that every employee with a computer had been asking: When are we getting browser upgrades, for crying out loud?

Secretary Clinton’s answer pleased and surprised them all. They were getting Google Chrome.

“We know how important this is for all of you… Three years ago [when she took office], we really were not in the 21st century, let me put it that way. But… we have made progress. So, today, I am happy to announce… that Google Chrome will be deployed worldwide [for State Department use].“

Due to particular needs of interdepartmental sites, they will also have Internet Explorer 8, with Google Chrome there as an alternate browser for all external website access.