Google hopes the move will increase the adoption of its Android operating system in tablets, the Journal , citing unnamed sources. But selling tablets online could be challenging, since consumers often prefer to see the hardware in person before making a purchase.

The Journal didn't say when the online store might open, and Google declined to comment. The tablets will be manufactured by Google partners such as Samsung Electronics and Asustek Computer, the paper said. One tablet to be sold in the store, from Asus, is due to go on sale later this year, it said.

Android has been a big success in smartphones, but Android tablets have yet to make much of a dent in Apple's huge iPad business. Perhaps the strongest competitors today are from Amazon, and those tablets are based on a fork of the Android OS for which Google receives no payment, said Bob O'Donnell, an analyst at IDC.

"Clearly, Google is in a difficult position," he said.

Succeeding in tablets is important for Google because it will make Android even more attractive to developers. "Their goal ultimately is to have the OS on as many devices as possible," O'Donnell said.