TechCrunch reports that Google has bought a share of ownership in Maxthon, an IE-based web browser which adds many options to IE’s web rendering core.

Once upon a time, IE-based shells were quite popular, and products like Crazy Browser or Avant Browser had quite a huge following. But, with the rising popularity of Firefox, browser shells aren’t talked about that much anymore. Which, of course, doesn’t mean that no one is using them; for example, Maxthon reports over 80.000.000 downloads of their browser. Read/Write Web notes that Maxthon is actually second most popular browser in China, ahead of Firefox.

This is quite an unexpected move by Google. They have a clear and open partnership with Firefox, and are known to be the biggest supporter of IE’s strongest alternative. Maxthon, on the other hand, however advanced it may be, is still based on IE’s rendering engine. This move could be based on two things: Maxthon’s popularity or some technology that Google has recognized as valuable in the long run. If it’s the first, it means that Google just wants a share of the Chinese browser market, and it’s not a huge threat to Firefox. But if Google is eyeing on Maxthon’s patents or technology - together with ever-reappearing rumors of Google launching their own web browser - then Firefox might be in trouble.