Glenbrook has expanded its series of eCommerce Market Analysis Reports with a new profile of the market in Russia.

These reports are designed to help U.S. companies better understand eCommerce markets around the world — what local acceptance practices make each unique, what payment options are necessary to reach a critical mass of online buyers, and which payment providers can assist with market entry.

This new report complement our existing analysis of the eCommerce markets in China, India, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, South Africa, and Poland. Let us know if you have questions or are interest in discounted, multi-report pricing.

Google, Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint have announced and demonstrated Google Wallet, "an app that will make your phone your wallet so you can tap, pay and save money and time while you shop. For businesses, Google Wallet is an opportunity to strengthen customer relationships by offering a faster, easier shopping experience with relevant deals, promotions and loyalty rewards."

“Today, we’ve joined with leaders in the industry to build the next generation of mobile commerce,” said Stephanie Tilenius, vice president, commerce and payments, Google. “With Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint we’re building an open commerce ecosystem that for the first time will make it possible for you to pay with an NFC wallet and redeem consumer promotions all in one tap, while shopping offline.”

Google Wallet is currently in a field test and will be available to consumers this summer. The official site is www.google.com/wallet. The Google Wallet merchant acceptance site is www.firstdata.com/googlewallet.

If you missed the announcement — and all the Q&A — EnGadget was live blogging everything with photos. Nice job.

Sprint, VeriFone, and NXP all issued related announcements.

On the wires:

• VeriFone to Acquire South Africa Payments Solutions Provider
• Parkmobile and Liberty PlugIns Debut Pay by Phone Electric Vehicle Charging
• Telemundo Branded Gift Cards to Launch at Retail This Month via InComm
• New Aite Group Report on the Future of Merchant Acquiring

On the web:

• TechCrunch: WePay Adds Event Ticketing To Hassle-Free Group Payments Platform
• AllThingsD: Alipay Gets Its License to Operate in China
• PayPal Blog: PayPal Is Now a Payout Option for Developers Redeeming Facebrook Credits
• MIT Technology Review: What Bitcoin Is, and Why It Matters