Rumors of a Paypal like service from Google have been around for over a year, and expected months ago. Today Google has announced Google Checkout, along with a large number of online stores that will be using their new service.

From the official blog:

We’ve heard time and again from users: “I find great stores through Google search, but every time I try to buy from an online store, I have to re-enter the same billing, shipping, and credit card information. There are too many steps. Why can’t it be as fast as a Google search?” This motivated us to improve the online purchase process, and so today we’re announcing Google Checkout, a checkout option that makes buying across the web fast and easy.