Customers will be able to buy safe in the knowledge that the products had been carefully assessed, something that was not always true of conventional software channels.

"Intel is a big brand and people do trust Intel. If Intel trusts these products they must be OK," he said, describing the thought process of the customer.

One interesting idea behind the store is that Intel hopes to use it to offer a retail channel to very small software outfits that might lack the marketing nous to sell their own products to a sophisticated audience.

These products might be innovative but lack brand presence and trust without the backing of a large company such as Intel.

"It is also great for the ISV community - providing a channel to market for some of the small and highly innovative software companies who might otherwise struggle to get their products in front of such a broad audience," he said.