As you may have seen, the Google Docs blog announced a preview of the Google Checkout store gadget back in July. The Google Checkout store gadget, available in Google Labs, allows you to create an online store with inventory managed from a Google spreadsheet and payments accepted through Google Checkout.

Since then, our engineers have been exploring ways to simplify store creation. Today, we're excited to introduce a new feature for the store gadget: a wizard that streamlines the store creation process. By automating the manual steps in the original instruction guide, the new store gadget wizard should leave you with even more time to focus on your business.

As with the original release, no complicated coding or technical tasks are required, and you can get your first online store up-and-running in under five minutes. The new wizard helps you embed the store on Blogger, Google Sites, iGoogle, and other websites. We hope you'll find the new version more intuitive and enjoyable to use. To illustrate the difference:

We've heard from small businesses who believe the store gadget offers an easy e-commerce solution without the complicated coding. For example, a husband and wife are using the store gadget to start a stationery store. Read more feedback at Google Labs.