In an announcement made via a blog post on Monday, web giant Google said that it will replace Flash with HTML5 in a forthcoming new version -- Chrome 55 -- of its Chrome web browser. The Chrome 55 version is scheduled for release in December 2016.

The announcement made by Google clearly indicates that the company has efforts underway to rid Flash from its Chrome browser at the end of the year.

According to Google’s Monday announcement, background Flash content will automatically be blocked by Chrome browser with effect from September, when the company plans to launch the Chrome 53 version. The announcement implies that Google will start de-emphasizing Flash from next month.

Thereafter, when Chrome 55 is released in December, Google will show only the HTML5 version of websites.

About the move to replace Flash with HTML5 by the end of this year, Google said that the move will not only result in improved security, but will also lead to lower power consumption and faster page load times.

Highlighting the fact that “HTML5 is much lighter and faster,” and is being increasingly used by publishers, in place of Flash, to accelerate page loading and help users save battery life, Anthony LaForge -- curator of Flash in Chrome -- said in the blog post that the switch to HTML5 will allow users to experience “an improvement in responsiveness and efficiency for many sites.”