• Bloomberg, Thursday, February 9, 2012 11:59 AM

Elsewhere in Europe, Google could possibly open its first standalone retail store in Dublin. According to a filing obtained by Bloomberg, the Google Store would be open to the public and sell unspecified “Google merchandise,” Google’s Irish unit said in a local planning application. “While we do have the option to open retail space, we are examining all potential uses,” the California-based company said in an e-mailed statement. “No final decision has been taken.”

As tentative as that sounds, Bloomberg still suggests that retail could be a new front in Google’s competition with Apple, whose 361 stores have surely helped fuel sales of iPods, iPhones and iPad tablet computers. Need we remind you that Google, the world’s largest maker of smartphone operating software, is finalizing its acquisition of handset maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion?

Technically not its first fling with brick and mortar, Google previously opened a test store inside the London branch of electrical retailer Currys, the Daily Telegraph reported in October. Google has also has a store for its merchandise at its headquarters in California, but it’s not open to the public, and obviously not a standalone affair.  

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