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

Merchants participating in Google Checkout will display a small shopping cart icon as part of their advertisements on search pages. When customers click on the advertiser's link, they are given the choice of using traditional payment methods or Google Checkout.

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

...For merchants, one concern is whether Google's system, which is unfamiliar to users, will reduce the number of people who complete purchases on their sites, a measure known as the conversion rate.

"You have people in your most valuable area and suddenly you are switching them off your site to something no one has ever done before," said John Bresee, the president of Backcountry.com, an online seller of sporting goods that has been testing Google Checkout. "The cost will be stunningly high, if they are not great at what they do."

Mr. Bresee said Backcountry would have people watching the performance of Google Checkout around the clock.
"If they convert at the same rate, and the fees are lower, we will put up the biggest Google Checkout button you have ever seen," he said.

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