When Google realized that most folks like to actually check out a laptop computer in person before laying down their hard-earned cash for it, the California-based company started thinking about opening its own retail outlets.

Well, the wait is over and the company has opened its first store (called, appropriately the Chrome Zone), but it is quite a few miles from the store’s Bay Area headquarters. It is, instead, a “store within a store” in central London — a pop-up boutique, if you will — according to the London Evening Standard.

The 285 sq. ft. pop-up store within the Currys and PC World superstore on Tottenham Court Road  “only sells Google’s (Samsung) Chromebook laptop and a few accessories such as headphones” and “will run for three months up to Christmas,” the Standard notes.

A second Chrome Zone location will open this week (Oct. 6th) at a PC World superstore in Essex. “We’ve put a lot of effort into making it feel welcoming, homely and, dare I say it, Googley,” said a company spokesperson in a statement. "It is our first foray into physical retail,” said Arvind Desikan, head of consumer marketing at Google UK. “This is a new channel for us and it's still very, very early days. It's something Google is going to play with and see where it leads."

The San Francisco Chronicle compares these retail efforts to those being put forth by Microsoft, which currently has about a dozen stores and plans to have about 75 across the globe by 2014.

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The stimulus worked [Washington Post], and August retail numbers contain hints of an upturn [WSJ].

Departure of chief exec Kai-Fu Lee is a setback for Google in China. [NYT]

Proctor & Gamble to sponsor US Olympic teams in 2010 and 2012. [WSJ]

T-Mobile uses Google's Android platform to launch a pay-as-you-go cell phone. [Brand Republic]

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