The online version of Google’s Android Market – as promised earlier this year – may well be just around the corner. Developer René Hesse spotted that Google has updated its Market URL convention, now using a http://market.android.com/ prefix, and indicating that a more iTunes-like system is about to be launched.

Old version: market: / details? / Id = de.appsplus.widgets.footballwidget

New version: http://market.android.com/details?id=de.cellular.ottohybrid

In the iTunes ecosystem, clicking on an iTunes link – whether for software or multimedia – opens a webpage for that content that automatically loads the Apple software if present on the computer you’re using. While Google has online listings for some of the most popular apps available in the Android Market, you can’t yet buy them online nor browse the entire catalog. Back at Google I/O, Vic Gundotra previewed the online Android Market; you can see it from around the 31 minutes point in the video below: