So, the underlying issue turns out to be the gdipp font-renderer that was (at some point) installed on my work PC, and I finally found a solution (that works for me), meaning I can finally upgrade to the latest Chrome!

Step 1:
Uninstall gdipp. I couldn’t find any uninstall function, so I followed this method:
Programs > gdipp > Script > Delete_Services.bat
This leaves the gdipp listing in your Services, but it will not start automatically. (If you’re like me and really want it gone, you can hunt down each and every gdipp reference in your Registry, but keep in mind this can cause problems, so be careful…)

Step 2:
Download and install http://code.google.com/p/mactype/. (Don’t be scared off by the Japanese language, the app installs in English and makes your fonts on Windows look really nice!)

Happy fonting,
Atg