Google announced Thursday that in-app billing will be coming to the Android Market next week.
To prep for the launch, Google is now allowing developers to upload and test apps that include in-app billing.
"You can now upload your apps to the Developer Console, create a catalog of in-app products, and set prices for them," Eric Chu with the Android developer ecosystem said in a blog post. "You can then set up accounts to test in-app purchases. During these test transactions, the In-app Billing service interacts with your app exactly as it will for actual users and live transactions."
Developers cannot actually publish these updated apps until next week, however. For now, Google has updated the developer documentation with information about how to set up product lists and test the in-app purchase capabilities.
Chu also stressed that it is "absolutely essential" that developers review Google's security guidelines "to make sure your billing implementation is secure."
Google first announced plans for Android in-app billing at January's Inside Mobile Conference in San Francisco. At the time, Chu said he was "definitely not happy" with the Android Market's lack of in-app purchases and told developers to expect "more investment into merchandising, payments, discovery, downloading...those are absolutely top areas for us."
In-app purchases have been available via Apple's App Store since October 2009 and via BlackBerry App World since September 2010.
Recently, Apple updated iOS to version 4.3, which - among other things - now requires users to enter their passwords before making in-app purchases. The move came after some users experienced bill shock thanks to in-app purchases they did not know they, or their children, were making. That prompted several members of Congress to ask the Federal Trade Commission to look into the issue of in-app billing; the FTC later said it is looking "closely" at the issue. After Apple implemented the password requirement, those members of Congress said they were pleased by the move.