It looks like Google is either going to hobble the Chrome Web Store or (more likely) help Google Checkout.  The company’s announced that developers who intend to use Chrome Web Store Payments to charge for apps must have Checkout accounts.

That’s a big step, considering the degree to which Google Checkout has failed to catch on.  By pairing it with the Chrome Web Store, Google’s shown that it’s not ready to just cede the market to PayPal.

Google has a new Android Payment Extension for the Google Checkout Store Gadget. This allows people to make purchases with their phones, and would be helpful to merchants who wish to accept credit cards.

The Dow didn’t crash again today (it closed up 226 points, in fact), but the economy still isn’t in fantastic shape, and it doesn’t harm anyone to save a few bucks even when it is.  So shoppers, take note: discounts are available at all sorts of online stores as long as you turn to Google, and not PayPal or a credit card, when it’s time to check out.

Google Checkout’s Advanced Buyer Messaging (gift messaging) feature has been taken out of beta. This feature, which was released over a year ago lets Google Checkout customers add gift messages, add additional instructions, and request gift receipts.

YouTube has made a couple of big announcements. First of all, they are going to start renting movies. They are kicking off this initiative by partnering with the Sundance Film Festival, making five films from 2010 and 2009 available for rent for U.S. users. This starts Friday and will run through Sunday January 31.

Update: Google has now introduced a gadget wizard for the Store Gadget. The company says:

Today, we’re excited to introduce a new feature for the store gadget: a wizard that streamlines the store creation process. By automating the manual steps in the original instruction guide, the new store gadget wizard should leave you with even more time to focus on your business.

It’s no secret that the economy hasn’t been good this year, but today’s Cyber Monday, and if you’re planning on doing some shopping online, Google wants to help.  Individuals who pay for things using Google Checkout may be able to save as much as $20 per purchase thanks to a new promotion.

A post on the Official Google Blog urged readers this morning to "save with exclusive discounts of $5, $10 or $20 at hundreds of participating stores, including TigerDirect.com, BlueNile.com and Petco.com."

Google has launched a new feature for Google Checkout, which allows merchants based in the US to create and run their own Checkout promotions at any time.

Users simply need to sign in to their Checkout merchant account, go to the "Tools" tab, and click the "Promotions" link to create a promotion. Google says the process takes less than a minute. Users can specify the date and time they’d like the promotion to run, and choose from different dollar-off discounts to offer their buyers.

Google has made a change to its content restrictions for Google Checkout. Google Checkout now allows the sale of real estate rentals, timeshares, and day sight-seeing tours.

Google has introduced some new policies for marketplaces and aggregators on Google Product Search. They have also introduced multi-client accounts to help aggregators and marketplaces manage feeds for multiple sellers under a single account.

Facebook is set to begin testing an expansion of its Gift Shop, for third-party developers to begin selling items to users for Facebook’s virtual currency. The really interesting part about this is that these developers can sell physical merchandise, not just Facebook gifts.

Google announced today that NetSuite is now a featured partner of Google Checkout. This means that NetSuite users can now offer Google Checkout as one of their payment options.

Back in May, it was reported that Facebook was going to begin testing a payments system. This inevitably led to discussion about how Facebook might be preparing to take on products like PayPal and Google Checkout.

Facebook will reportedly begin testing a payments system in the coming weeks. This will start with a few developers, exploring ways for users to use Facebook credits with third-party apps on Facebook.

Google Checkout is now offering a way for users to sell subscriptions. This is a feature that has apparently been requested quite heavily.

"Merchants will now have the ability to sell products and services that require recurring billing using our API," explains Software Engineer Andrew Cunningham. "So if you’re already comfortable building your own carts using Checkout, you’re ready to implement Subscriptions by consulting the documentation."

In early May, merchants will start being charged larger fees for using Google Checkout. Google is also discontinuing AdWords free transaction processing.

Google announced today that starting at the beginning of March, non-profit organizations who use Google Checkout will be subject to the standard fee structure. Previously, they have been able to use the service free of charge.

Back in October, when Google offered some tips for the then-upcoming holiday season, they suggested using Google Checkout badges in your AdWords ads. They said that ads that do this have a 10% higher clickthrough rate than those that don’t.

We’re quickly approaching the end of October. For businesses, that can only mean one thing. The holiday season is nigh! For online businesses, this means that it’s time to kick-start the tactics you should have been using all year. The clock has already begun to tick for getting people to your site and for you to cash in on online shopping for the holidays.

Amazon.com has introduced two new online payment services that other retailers can use on their Web sites.

The new payment services, Checkout By Amazon and Amazon Simple Pay offer businesses another payment option besides PayPal and Google Checkout.