Google aims to make Net shopping easier

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: In its quest to "organise the world's information," Google now wants to keep track of your credit card number and where you live.

The company last week introduced Google Checkout, a service that will allow users to make purchases from online stores using payment and shipping information they keep on file with Google.

Google's aim, said Eric E Schmidt, the chief executive, is to make it easier and faster for people to buy products advertised on Google — thus attracting more advertisers.

"The goal here is to make it be one nanosecond from the time the customer decides to buy to the time the transaction is complete and the product is on the way," Schmidt said.

For consumers, this sort of service, often referred to as an online wallet, is hardly new. Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo have offered similar wallets, which proved to have limited appeal. While the PayPal service of eBay has attracted widespread use, it offers additional features like the ability to transfer money from checking accounts.

But for merchants, the service comes with a twist: Google will waive some or all of the transaction fees for companies that buy advertising from it. That may give the service a leg up on competitors like PayPal and several smaller companies that help online merchants accept credit cards.

It will also add another entry to the list of businesses that have been shaken up by Google's innovations, a list that already includes publishing, advertising and desktop software. Google is charging merchants 20 cents plus 2 % of the purchase price to process card transactions, less than most businesses pay for credit card processing. Banking industry executives say that credit card processors typically pay MasterCard and Visa a fee of 30 cents and 1.95% for every purchase, so Google will be subsidising many transactions.

What is more, for every $1 a company spends on search advertising, Google will waive the fees on $10 worth of purchases. Factoring in the 2% fee, that represents a rebate of at least 20% of advertising spending.

Schmidt said the company was willing to lose money on transaction fees because it felt the package would increase advertising spending.

"The math works because we can have lower prices and higher volume," he said.