Online auction site Taobao, based in China, has opened its platform to third-party developers and launched the Taobao App Store. The company said it would invest $1.46 million to foster promising independent software developers, who will be able to generate revenue from their applications through subscription fees, commissions or advertising, depending on the type of service offered and popularity of the product.

In August 2009, eBay launched its open-platform service, offering tools created by outside developers directly on eBay.com through its Selling Manager software. Its own version of an eBay App Store offers applications for sellers to help them conduct research, manage shipping and other selling tasks.

The Taobao App Store (http://app.taobao.com) will offer solutions created by independent developers through TOP for Taobao merchants and consumers. The first batch of applications available in the store is the top 30 applications identified through the "Win at Taobao" competition held by TOP (Taobao Open Platform).

The Taobao App Store will offer products across a range of categories to meet the needs of all Taobao users, including tools for sellers and buyers; extensions for Taobao community sites; tools for product recommendation; and mobile phone applications. For Taobao sellers, the applications will aim to improve their business management and back-end operation functionality while buyers will be offered tools to improve their shopping experience.