It looks like Google is either going to hobble the Chrome Web Store or (more likely) help Google Checkout.  The company's announced that developers who intend to use Chrome Web Store Payments to charge for apps must have Checkout accounts.

That's a big step, considering the degree to which Google Checkout has failed to catch on.  By pairing it with the Chrome Web Store, Google's shown that it's not ready to just cede the market to PayPal.

This development is probably important in terms of what it means for the Web Store, as well, of course.  The fact that Google's worrying about payment options may signal that a launch date isn't far off, even if Google still hasn't promised anything too specific.

Then here's one more significant announcement Google made in relation to the Web Store: Qinming Fang, a software engineer, wrote on the Chromium Blog, "We also added the ability to see how your app will appear in the store.  When you preview an uploaded app, you'll see our new design of the app's landing page."

So things are definitely moving forward.

A developer discussion group is at the ready if you're interested in further details and opinions concerning the Chrome Web Store and Google Checkout.