Google plans to open a Web applications store in its Chrome browser later this year.
The Internet search leader previewed the Chrome store Wednesday during a San Francisco conference for computer programmers who create applications that run on the Web and mobile devices.
Some applications will charge a fee while others will be given away. All of them will run in the Chrome browser.
Google Inc. didn't specify a precise date for the store's opening. The launch of the store could be linked to the introduction later this year of lightweight laptops — or netbooks — that run on an operating system powered by Chrome. Verizon also is working with Google on a tablet computer to compete with Apple Inc.'s iPad, which also has an apps store.
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