As open-source proponents will tell you, there are several advantages to running Linux, and the open-source camp is about to have another bragging point, at least if you’re a Chrome user. Google Chrome will soon be available in 64-bit form, but only for Linux.

“The V8 team did some amazing work this quarter building a working 64-bit port. After a handful of changes on the Chromium side, I’ve had Chromium Linux building on 64-bit for the last few weeks,” said Chrome engineer Dean McNamee.While Vista 64-bit users might be miffed at being left out in the cold (at least for now), the move make senses, given that 64-bit adoption is still stronger on the Linux side than it is with Windows. But given the smoother experience of moving to 64-bit on Vista compared to XP, and Windows 7 shaping up the same way, we imagine a Windows version of 64-bit Chrome can’t be far behind.

One of the benefits of 64-bit software is the ability to better utilize large amounts of RAM. 64-bit software can also take up more disk space, but with 1TB drives fast becoming the norm and not the exception, even mainstream users aren’t likely to scoff at the trade-off for additional performance.