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Google Checkout, introduced a little over a week ago, has been seen as the first major threat to eBay's PayPal ever since rumours of its imminent introduction began circulating last year.

The auction monopoly's response has been to invoke its Accepted Payments Policy, which states that with regard to new payment services, 'eBay will evaluate them to determine whether they are appropriate for the marketplace'.

This policy was updated last week to specifically include Checkout among the several dozen payment systems that are

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not permitted (listed by clicking Show to the right of Some Examples).

Rob Chesnut, eBay's senior vice president Trust & Safety, said that the update followed a 'comprehensive evaluation' of possible payment methods.

'Completing a transaction with an appropriate, safe and convenient payment method is an important part of trading on eBay,' he said. 'While many of the payment methods offered by eBay sellers offer a high degree of safety and convenience, a few simply are not appropriate for the eBay marketplace.'

Ostensibly it appears that Google has fallen foul of the fourth necessary criterion listed in the Accepted Payments Policy, that 'the payment service has a substantial historical track record of providing safe and reliable financial and/or banking related services (new services without such a track record generally cannot be promoted on eBay)'. However it remains to be seen quite how long it will take for the service to establish a track record before eBay welcomes it.

Anyone attempting to use Google Checkout as a payment option is likely to see their sale listing removed, with fees forfeited. The Guardian adds that it is possible that accounts may be suspended.