SiliconValleyWatch reports on a slight change of tack by Google. We were expecting the long-awaited launch of GBuy, a PayPal lookalike or even “killer”, but instead we’re given Google Checkout:

Google has launched Google Checkout, a payment system for online retailers that’s tightly integrated with Google AdWords. Checkout isn’t the rumored PayPal killer, but it does offer some compelling features for both merchants and online shoppers alike. … In fact, Google Checkout is simply an extension of technology the company has developed internally for its AdWords, Base, Picasa and other services.

Salar Kamangar, VP of Product Management at Google said, “There are more and more reasons for users to do transactions for Google products. We wanted to generalize that experience. It’s not about a universal wallet; it’s about making the checkout process streamlined with the fewest number of steps.”

Why is Google consistently underlaunching on its seed PR these days?