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Google's Chrome Web Store ready for trial runs

Developers can start testing the Chrome Web Store's ability to distribute their Web applications as of Thursday.

Google's Chrome Web Store is now available for developers to test out, and the company confirmed a few details that leaked out earlier this week.

A report had suggested that the store would be launching in October, and while Google still isn't ready to confirm that specific timing it did publish a few more details Thursday on its Chromium blog about how the store will work. Web application developers will be able to upload their applications to the store and get a sense of how shoppers will see and purchase them before the store goes completely live.

Google did confirm that it is charging just 5 percent of the application price in exchange for hosting the store and processing the payment, but it's also tacking on a 30-cent fee per transaction for each paid app download and developers have to pay a one-time $5 fee to register as a Chrome developer (unless you've already registered as a Chrome Extensions developer). Developers can offer free, paid, or free trials of their applications, and the minimum price is $1.99.

Three types of products can be submitted to the Chrome Web Store: applications, themes, and extensions, and developers will be able to charge for any of them. Google will need to get a fair number of developers on board to make the first Chrome OS devices compelling, with rumors that the first tablet running Google's browser-based operating system could arrive in November.

Of course, there's a video: