Internet giant, Google has now launched its mobile payments service, Google Wallet, which has been undergoing trails in New York and San Francisco since May, for the US customers.

Google Wallet uses the Near Field Communications (NFC) technology allowing users to make payments using their mobile phones. Even as the service app is only available to customers of the Sprint network with a Nexus S phone running on Android, it is expected to expand to other devices soon.

The users are also required to sign up for a Citi MasterCard account or get a Google Prepaid Card. Google is already working with Visa, American Express and Discover cards to integrate them in newer versions of the app. The service will allow users to make payments in any 300,000 shops and other outlets in the US and in other countries if they accept MasterCard PayPass.

"Our goal is to make it possible for you to add all of your payment cards to Google Wallet, so you can say goodbye to even the biggest traditional wallets. This is still just the beginning, and while we're excited about this first step, we look forward to bringing Google Wallet to more phones in the future," Osama Bedier, vice president of Google payments wrote in a company blog.

The service will be available in the US only initially and the company is aiming to launch the service in Europe stating with the US, in 2012.