Google Inc. plans to release a version of its desktop search tool for computers running on the Mac operating system from Apple Computer Inc. , Google chief executive Eric Schmidt said on Friday.

Schmidt did not set a timetable for a Mac version of Google Desktop, saying it had to be rebuilt from the ground up because of the fundamental differences between the Mac OS and Windows.

“We intend to do it,” Schmidt said at a University of California-Los Angeles conference commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Internet.

Google released the desktop tool earlier this month, staking out early ground in a battle for personal information retrieval that is expected to eventually include players like Microsoft Corp. and even Apple.

Google’s high profile webmail service, Gmail, is vulnerable to a security exploit that might allow hackers full access to a user’s email account simply by knowing the user name, according to reports.

The security flaw allows full access to users’ accounts, with no need of a password, Israeli news site Nana says . Using a hex-encoded XSS link, the victim’s cookie file can be stolen by a hacker, who can later use it to identify himself to Gmail as the original owner of an email account, regardless of whether or not the password is subsequently changed. Following up a tip from an Israeli hacker, journos from the site confirmed the attack and verified the exploit with local security firm Aladdin Knowledge Systems.