Online commerce could be next for Google as it recruits EBay executive

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Google may be poised for a push into online commerce.

Google said Tuesday that Stephanie Tilenius would join the Internet giant as vice president of commerce, a new position.

The EBay veteran said in September she would leave the Silicon Valley auction site. Google has tried to create a rival to PayPal, EBay’s online payment service.

In addition to Google Checkout, Google has made some subtle moves into online commerce, such as showcasing shopping results for items such as “women’s white blouses” on its search pages.

Tilenius, co-founder of PlanetRx.com, made a name for herself at EBay after arriving in 2001, running a number of divisions and holding a variety of executive roles.

A Google spokeswoman said Tilenius would not be available for an interview Tuesday. A person close to the situation said: ‘Stephanie will be leading our efforts to develop digital content and commerce in the cloud and will be our point person for everything commerce related -- including product search and payments -- an area where we see tremendous opportunity for growth.’

-- Jessica Guynn